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An Arsenal legend has justified the controversial celebrations that humiliated Erling Haaland during Sunday’s match.

Arsenal’s celebrations in their 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City have been deemed “fair game” by former Gunners midfielder Ray Parlour.  

What happened?

The match was marked by a series of taunts directed at City striker Erling Haaland, who had been involved in a controversial incident in the reverse fixture earlier this season.   

Haaland had thrown the ball at Gabriel Magalhaes’s head and told Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” after scoring a late equaliser in September’s 2-2 draw. 

The Gunners got their revenge on Sunday, with Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicking Haaland’s celebration after scoring and Gabriel celebrating Martin Odegaard’s goal in front of the Norwegian. 

Arsenal also played Kendrick Lamar’s song “Humble” over the PA system at full-time.   

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What Parlour said

Parlour believes that Arsenal’s actions were justified, given Haaland’s behaviour in the previous match. 

“We had rivalries in our day, especially with Manchester United,” the former midfielder told Sports Mole. “And it’s key to always get one over your nearest rival. 

“It is fair game, the media bring a lot of this up. It’s an emotional game and things happen. Haaland threw the ball on the back of Gabriel’s head in the first game and then you overhear stay humble from him.

He also praised Arsenal’s performance, highlighting the contributions of young players Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.

“For Arsenal, two youngsters getting on the scoresheet made it even sweeter for the crowd and then Havertz getting his goal,” Parlour added. “Arsenal wanted to put in a big performance and they deserved the win on Sunday.”

What next for Arsenal?

Arsenal travel to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg on Wednesday, keen to turn around a two-goal deficit.