Pep Guardiola takes unique approach to furiously slam 'stupid' Arsenal criticism

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Pep Guardiola chose not to wait to be questioned about the backlash in his pre-Burnley press conference and raised the matter himself

Pep Guardiola has fired back at what he describes as 'stupid' criticism directed at his Manchester City side following one of their most significant victories of the campaign.

Players and coaching staff made no attempt to conceal their jubilation on Sunday after defeating Arsenal, with Gianluigi Donnarumma leaping into the crowd and Erling Haaland belting out a song to the camera before the entire squad embarked on their customary lap of appreciation around the Etihad.

The celebrations drew widespread criticism, with Wayne Rooney telling the BBC they were 'over the top', 'premature' and 'may come back to bite them'. It has subsequently been mooted that Arsenal could draw on City's exuberant reaction as fuel to overhaul them in the title race.

Guardiola chose not to wait to be questioned about the backlash in his pre-Burnley press conference, raising the matter himself and underlining his desire for his players to acknowledge their achievements and consistently show gratitude to the supporters.

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The City boss acknowledged their response might differ should they overcome Burnley in midweek, but maintained that the magnitude of Sunday's triumph over Arsenal fully justified their reaction.

"When I'm on the sidelines and seeing how Arsenal is playing, I give incredible credit. They are a top team, a contender to win the Champions League and top of the Premier League. I see that game and we had to sweat and fight to beat them because they have everything. So so competitive, their mentality and many, many things that they do well. They play short, they play well," he said.

"They play long ball, they win the second ball. Set-pieces. It's a nightmare. I give a lot of credit to compete with them and against them and the last two times beat them. I give a lot of credit to these players, they know it and feel it.

"People can say whatever stupid things they want to say - they celebrated because they know the value of the opponent. They knew if we didn't win it would be 'bye bye'. They won and still we are there. How can they not celebrate it?

"As much as you respect the opponent and the fans of the opponent, celebrate however you want. Wait until the end of the season to celebrate? Come on. I said to them 'every single game go to our fans' and enjoy the moment. What sense is not to live it? You have to celebrate just once if you win? And if you don't win you cry all the time? Come on.

"Of course we are not going to celebrate it in the middle of the week if we win 3-0 or 4-0 and the opponent are different. Everybody knew that game. It was a final. Especially for us. Maybe not for them but for us it was a final and of course you have to celebrate it."