Mikel Arteta and Kai Havertz slammed as Arsenal win branded 'poor advert'

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been criticised for his celebrations against Brentford, with the win being slammed as a «poor advert» for the game. The Gunners edged past Brentford on Saturday to claim top spot in the Premier League.

It looked as though the Gunners might be held by the Bees after Declan Rice's opener was cancelled out by Yoane Wissa — the Brentford man taking advantage of an Aaron Ramsdale howler. Kai Havertz popped up in the 86th minute to nod home a vital winner, much to the frustration of Brentford boss Thomas Frank.

Frank was furious that the German was even on the pitch after accusing him of diving. BBC pundit Garth Crooks agreed with that assessment, while also taking aim at Arteta

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Writing his BBC Sport column, Crooks said: «Brentford boss Thomas Frank was absolutely right. Kai Havertz had no right to be on the pitch when he scored the winner in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Brentford. The Germany international, having received a caution for throwing his elbow, elected to dive in the Brentford penalty area in order to try to seek a clear advantage.

»However, what was more troubling was that referee Robert Jones refused to do anything about it, even though the Brentford defenders were waving an imaginary card in the air in an attempt to bring the incident to his attention. For Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to then glorify the «manner of the win» in his post-match interview, having seen him gloating with Havertz at the end of the game, was a poor advert and only served to rub salt in Brentford's wounds."

Crooks' comments echo that of