Chelsea legend, Joe Cole, has heaped criticism on Arsenal fans after the Gunners defeated Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. After the victory, which has left Mauricio Pochettino fighting for his job at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal fans reportedly set fireworks off to celebrate but the actions were deemed over the top by Cole.
The former Chelsea midfielder was working for TNT Sports and was evidently riled up afterwards having seen his former side torn apart by the Gunners. Kai Havertz and Ben White both scored a brace each while Leandro Trossard added a fifth for Mikel Artetas's men as they stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League table to three points.
After the match, Martin Keown – who was also on punditry duty for the match – attempted to get under Cole's skin by accusing him of ‘going missing like the Chelsea team' due to the former England international disappearing off screen for a short period. Quipping back, Cole went in on the Arsenal fans and their post-match celebration. He said:
“I heard fireworks from the Arsenal fans. I think that's a bit early with five games to go. It’s a bit too much.”
Were Arsenal fans' celebrations over the top with games still to be played elsewhere? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/lq9BiZI8N0
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 23, 2024
Arsenal fans hit back at Joe Cole
Arsenal fans weren't overly impressed with Joe Cole's comments after the match with several football fans accusing him of joining the ‘celebration police'. One fan took to social media platform, X, to post: “Joe Cole is right, Arsenal should not be celebrating against Chelsea. It was light work, no need to celebrate light work.”
Another said: “According to Joe Cole, Arsenal fans shouldn’t celebrate winning 5-0 against London rivals. I wonder if he could tell us when it would be ok to celebrate?”
A third added: “Here we go. Playing well and getting results but we’re not allowed to celebrate 3 points in a title race against a London rival. Have a day off.”