Declan Rice hailed Erling Haaland for taking Myles Lewis-Skelly's celebration in good spirits after the Arsenal youngster faced criticism.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Rice praised HaalandDefended Lewis-Skelly's gestureArsenal face Fulham on TuesdayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Lewis-Skelly imitated Manchester City star Haaland's celebration, sitting in a meditation pose after scoring his first-ever goal in professional football, in the Gunners' 5-1 win over the champions in a Premier League clash in February. After the game, the youngster faced a lot of backlash from pundits across the world, with some of them advising him to remain grounded.
AdvertisementAFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Now, Lewis-Skelly's Arsenal and England team-mate Rice came to his defence as the midfielder claimed that the youngster did not mean to insult Haaland. He also praised the Norwegian forward, for taking it in good spirits.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID
Speaking to , Rice said: "Yeah, look. I think people went a bit over the top with it in terms of what they were saying about it. I know Erling just like, took it on the chin. It's football at the end of the day. It's a goal, it's a celebration. If you don't celebrate when you score a goal, what's the point of obviously playing football?
"I've not celebrated before because I played for previous clubs and what not, but for him to score his first goal and obviously do that. I know he has a lot of respect for Haaland. It wasn't out of a mean gesture. It was just, you know, in the moment."
Lewis-Skelly also opened up on the much talked about celebration as he added: "I was kind of in the flow. I wasn't really thinking. And then just, yeah just everything takes care of itself really."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
The North London side, who are trailing league leaders Liverpool by 12 points, are all set to host Fulham in a must-win Premier League encounter on Tuesday.