Mikel Arteta has hit back at the criticism of his Arsenal squad after they appeared to ignore a young mascot before their draw at West Ham.
The Gunners travelled to the London Stadium on Sunday, with captain Martin Odegaard leading their starting line-up out alongside a young girl. The chance to be a mascot is a one in a lifetime opportunity, with the girl hoping to remember the occasion by getting a shirt signed.
She waited for the players as they walked in and one-by-one they signed a red home shirt she was holding. But most of the squad kept their headphones in and did not interact with the mascot besides signing the shirt.
The club posted the video on social media with the caption "Making memories with our mascot". The video sparked a huge backlash though, with many slamming the squad for ignoring the young girl.
But Arteta has now moved to defend his squad, insisting that the signing of the shirt was just one part of the day for the mascot. And he revealed that the Gunners had spoken to the girl's family who gave assurances that she enjoyed her day.
"It comes from Arsenal TV and we just speak about connection and what we have built with our supporters. It's what we do everything single day. We spoke to their parents and the day that they had," Arteta said ahead of his side's clash with Southampton.
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"They had the most amazing day. So you've just seen a fragment of a picture. What happened before that, afterwards, nobody saw that. It's not fair. I don't think they are perceived like that at all."
Arteta's defence came after the Gunners were slammed by celebrity fans Piers Morgan and Laura Woods. Morgan tweeted: "Come on guys, at least one of you say hello to her?!!", with Woods adding her own condemnation on her talkSPORT show.
"It doesn't take a lot just to acknowledge somebody and [give] a little smile. It's quite symptomatic that video, I think, of football now or footballers now," Woods said earlier this week.
"What's a bit disappointing is I actually messaged the club because the club put it out and I think they put it out thinking 'they've all stopped and signed the shirt, this is great'."
While Morgan and Woods were unimpressed, the father of the mascot had leapt to the defence of the Arsenal team. In words that Arteta echoed, he insisted she had had an unforgettable day.
He said on social media: "My daughter had a lovely time as Mascot for @Arsenal. There was only a small window to meet the players and she enjoyed it very much. Odegaard is her favourite player so to hold his hand onto the pitch was very special."
