A good time to look back at some memorable Arsenal celebrations | OneFootball

A lot has been made in the last few weeks about what celebrations are acceptable or not.

Iliman Ndiaye got a yellow card for acting like a seagull after scoring at Brighton—apparently too much for grown men and women to cope with. The irony is that some would have been chanting far worse.

Jamie Vardy responded to sick songs about his wife by pointing to his Premier League badge, reminding Spurs fans he has one more Premiership than they do. Bizarrely, the league in that scenario seemed more concerned about how Tottenham’s supporters felt.

Since Sunday, some have been offended by Lewis Skelley copying Haaland’s celebration.

It has led Tony Scholes to say that the league would have to investigate if they felt any celebrations “crossed the line.”

“Some of the celebrations have been very funny, entertaining, but there’s a line.

“Once it crosses over into mockery or criticism, then we would need to deal with it.”

To be fair to the Premier League chief officer, it’s unclear if he was simply answering a question. Of course, if a celebration was abusive, that would not be acceptable. Yet fans disliking someone scoring against them is not “crossing the line.”

Anyone bothered by a celebration needs to grow up. It’s a bit of fun. I’m sure when we next go to the Etihad, if we lose, we might have to take our medicine. It’s all part of the harmless fun.

I would much rather those in power focus on fighting abuse from the stands and online.

This isn’t a list of favourite celebrations but moments when Arsenal pushed the envelope and… we loved them for it.

Whenever We Play Man City It Seems?

So there were a lot of talking points about our celebrations last Sunday, but you could argue that in our last four league fixtures with Man City, one or both teams have been unhappy with the other.

When we beat them 1-0 last season, Kyle Walker was not happy with something Nicolas Jover said, refusing his post-match handshake.

Later in the campaign, Pep Guardiola had to stand between Haaland and Gabriel at the final whistle.

Then the 2-2 draw at the Etihad in September saw Haaland ask our manager to be humble and call Jesus a clown.

You sense this is just the start of things ?

Watch Video Here

Aubameyang – Celebrates In Front Of Spurs Fans

I know his legacy is divided on how he left the club, but there was a lot about the striker that fans could relate to.

He’s a superhero fanatic, spends his spare time watching WWE, and as a Gunner, he stole Thierry Henry’s iconic celebration after scoring in the North London Derby—sliding in front of the away end (minus running the length of the pitch).

Watch Video Here

Thierry Henry vs Danny Mills

Okay, Henry wasn’t innocent and comes up on this list a few times—and we love him for it.

Danny Mills decided the best way to stop our striker was to verbally provoke him, including while waiting for a penalty to be taken.

Arsenal beat Middlesbrough 4-1, so it didn’t really work, but clearly, something was said that Thierry remembered. After converting his spot kick, he celebrated by getting in the defender’s face and tapping the badge. His teammates smartly walked him away.

In 2025, you probably get a red card for this

Thierry Henry – Do You Want To Time Waste Now ?

Wigan were 1-0 up at the Emirates, so Chris Kirkland decided to time-waste every time he took a goal kick.

Not an unusual tactic by any team, but usually reserved for the last few minutes.

On this occasion, the keeper seemed to start the antics from the moment the visitors took the lead.

Clearly, our players were frustrated because when we equalised, our captain offered the goalie the ball, asking if he still wanted to take his time now.

Which he did—until we scored again, and suddenly, he was in a rush

Watch Video Here

Is That Enough ?

At Wigan, Thierry Henry wanted to take a quick free kick.

He had scored in the past against Aston Villa and Chelsea by doing this.

Our striker was clearly frustrated when the official asked him to wait for his whistle.

The Frenchman sulked, shrugged his shoulders, and put the ball in the net anyway, turning to the ref to cheekily ask, “Was that enough?”

This would be a red card offence in 2025.

Watch Video Here

What More Can I Do ?

Henry wasn’t shy in glaring at fans after scoring if he felt they had crossed the line in terms of abuse.

His stare towards Panathinaikos supporters, though, in 2004 went beyond sport.

The striker was simply stunned by the level of racism he was subjected to in Greece.

He told the press at the time:

“Of 162 goals I’ve scored, I’ve not celebrated two against Panathinaikos,” he told The Sun newspaper.

“And there is an explanation for that. They [the supporters] had been making monkey noises at me.”

Henry continued: “After scoring, I just stared at the fans for a few seconds. What else could I do?

“I could not make a sign with my hands; otherwise, I would get into trouble.

“And what happens next? I get criticised by various people for the way I celebrated. Sometimes, I just cannot win.”

Theo Walcott Reminds Spurs What The Score Is

In an FA Cup tie, Theo Walcott had to be stretched off. Given this was a North London Derby, it seemed unwise for our medical team to take the route of walking past the away end.

Let’s just say some Spurs fans didn’t have too much sympathy for the Gunner.

Given his injury record and the fact he had just seriously hurt his knee, credit to Walcott for having the humour to raise two fingers. Not those fingers! Fingers simply to remind his friends what the score was.

And some said he was too nice!

Watch Video Here

Battle Of Old Trafford

The only one of these celebrations that led to serious fines and bans.

Already feeling angry at Van Nistelrooy’s part in Vieira being sent off (to be fair, our captain does kick out), Keown responded to the striker’s stoppage-time penalty hitting the bar by famously jumping straight in front of his opponent. Practically the last kick of the game, other Gunners joined in, surrounding and pushing the Dutchman.

Years of feeling the now Leicester boss had cheated them—tensions boiled over.

Was it professional? Of course not. Did every Gooner love it? You bet!

Watch Video Here

Thierry Henry ‘ That Celebration ‘

Remains the best individual celebration in our history. In the North London Derby, Thierry Henry ran the length of Highbury to score, then decided to run back the other way so he could slide in front of the Spurs fans.

He calls it his favourite picture. In his own words, if you pause the clip, you see so many faces of anger, sadness, and disappointment.

I have it on a canvas in my kitchen!

Watch Video Here

‘

Don’t Celebrate ‘

Before kick-off in the NLD, a Chelsea defeat at Newcastle meant Arsenal knew they only needed a point at the Lane to lift the Premiership.

For safety reasons, our players were asked pre-match that if they got a result, could they not celebrate on the pitch. The Gunners agreed.

Imagine our shock then when Spurs, at full time, celebrated… a draw.

Robbie Keane had scored a stoppage-time penalty, but some of Tottenham’s players didn’t seem to realise that 2-2 meant Arsenal were now Champions!

Henry and Vieira took it upon themselves to order their teammates to enjoy the moment with travelling Gooners.

Watch Video Here

Dan Smith

( Great news guys, predictions returning!

To give everyone some time I will drop casual reminders but it will resume the weekend of Friday 14th February)