Aston Villa’s Ashley Young has delivered a cutting verdict on Arsenal’s post-match celebrations following the Gunners’ 1-0 triumph at Villa Park on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka's strike on the half-hour mark was enough to see his side to maximum points as the fourth-placed club go four points clear of Manchester United - Young’s former club - in fifth. Young, now 36, played a full 90 minutes for just the sixth time this season as Steven Gerrard’s men fell to back-to-back league losses for the first time in a month.
He credited Villa’s efforts against Arsenal, while also taking a quick swipe at the visitors’ behaviour post-match. Speaking to VillaTV, the former England regular said: "We want to make this (Villa Park) a tough place to come and I think it is a tough place.
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"You saw the way they celebrated, to be honest it was like they won the league. But it shows they found it tough." These comments come a month after Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves made the same accusation following his club’s 1-0 home loss to the Gunners.
Speaking after that fixture, he said: "We saw the way they celebrated the win and that shows the level we are. I didn't see Arsenal celebrating like this in the past 10 years - it was like they won the league."
Arsenal have since become the favourites to book their place in next season’s Champions League while Wolves are outside challengers for a Europa League spot. Mikel Arteta’s men have won six of their past seven fixtures and have been beaten in the league just once since the New Year’s Day defeat to Manchester City.
If Arsenal reach 79 points, they will have guaranteed fourth spot no matter how their top four challengers fair.
