Arsenal mascot: Laura Woods reveals what club has said to her about viral video | OneFootball

All in all, this weekend was a bit of a disaster for Arsenal.

On Saturday, title rivals Manchester City breezed to a 3-1 victory over Leicester City and on Sunday, the Gunners blew a 2-0 lead against West Ham to drop points in their hunt for a first Premier League title since 2004.

On top of this, a well-intended social media post from the club also went viral for the wrong reasons.

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Arsenal's mascot video goes viral for the wrong reasons

The video itself showed a young mascot having her Arsenal shirt signed by all the players, and although this may sound like many fans’ dream, the lack of warmth in the interactions left many football fans unhappy with the post.

Throughout the footage, the little girl barely received any acknowledgment from the players, and it is clear that she was desperate for at least a smile.

Of course, given that this was directly before kick-off, the players can be forgiven somewhat if their attention was focused on a vital game of football, but that said, a smile or a hello only takes a second.

The footage has been the subject of several debates on talkSPORT since Sunday and this morning was no different as Laura Woods, Ally McCoist, and the panel debated the topic once more.

The consensus among the panel was clear, the footage is symptomatic of a growing disconnect between fans and players at the highest level with Arsenal fan Woods saying the footage was a bad look for the club.

Woods went on to say that she had contacted the club for clarification on the footage.

What did Arsenal say to Laura Woods about the mascot footage?

“To add a little bit of context, I actually messaged the club because I think they thought ‘they all stopped and signed the shirt this is great.’

“Maybe that in itself is the problem that there’s now a disconnect between what you’re meant to do for those kinds of mascots.

“The club did say it’s part of a matchday experience so that’s not the only interaction she had with the players. She was a mascot, she went out on the pitch with them, she would have been on the pitch with them during warm-ups.

“I think there’s a lot of things we don’t see, but that’s not excusing that video.”

Ally McCoist added later: “I thought it was shocking, I’ve been saying for a while now the gap between a footballer and the fan is bigger than it’s ever been.”

However, one Arsenal fan has helped to further clarify Woods’ statement by explaining more details of the Arsenal mascot experience.

What is the Arsenal mascot experience?

“My younger brother was a mascot for Arsenal.

“This is just one part of the whole experience. Once the players are settled, the mascot meets them all, has chats and gets pictures.”