Arsenal’s squad have been slammed by supporters and celebrities alike after a succession of players appeared to ignore a young mascot before their Premier League showdown with West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.
Manager Mikel Arteta and his players were asked to stop and sign a shirt for Olivia, 8, before the game. Despite the youngster’s obvious excitement, none of her Arsenal heroes stopped for a chat or even looked in her direction.
In West Ham’s matchday programme, Olivia had singled out Martin Odegaard as her favourite player, but the Gunners captain kept his headphones in while signing the shirt before simply walking away.
Nick Knowles was among those to criticise on social media, writing: “Why doesn’t a single one of them actually say hello or even acknowledge the mascot? Are they all so self-obsessed that not a single one of them says hello or even looks at her?”
He later continued: “I suggest Arsenal get her and her family back and give your players another go at being decent human beings – admittedly they’d have to be coached into it but it might be something that sticks with some of them if it’s pointed out.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal fan Piers Morgan added: “Come on guys, at least one of you say hello to her?!!” Many others also laid into the Gunners, including @duncanfo, who ranted: “Are you actually kidding. Not one interaction with her. Entitled, overpaid and rude.”
Others called for leniency as the players were preparing for a high-stakes London derby that ended up having a dramatic effect on the Premier League title race. A video later emerged of Olivia lining up in the tunnel and chatting with Odegaard who, along with Gabriel Jesus, fired Arteta’s side into an early lead at the London Stadium, but for the second game in a row, their healthy advantage didn’t last.
“We started extremely well again, dominated the game all over the pitch and scored two beautiful goals,” said Arteta after the final whistle. “After that we made a huge mistake, we stopped playing with the same purpose to score the third and the fourth one.
“We need to have that ruthless mindset to go and kill a team. When a team is there for the taking, we have to kill the team. And when you don’t do that in the Premier League, at some stage it’s going to turn around.”
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