Wayne Rooney criticises Man City's 'over the top' celebrations after Arsenal win & thinks it could 'bite them'

The atmosphere in Manchester reached a fever pitch as the final whistle blew, with City players and fans alike revelling in what could be a pivotal victory. In one of the most animated moments of the afternoon, Gianluigi Donnarumma jumped into the crowd to celebrate with the home supporters after a redemption-filled performance.

City fans also unveiled a provocative banner reading 'Panic on the streets of London,' while another supporter was spotted mocking Arsenal's perceived collapse by pretending to drink from a 'bottled' water container. The players even performed a full lap of honour, a move Rooney feels could provide Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side with the perfect motivation for the final stretch.

Rooney has delivered a scathing assessment of Man City’s post-match conduct after they moved within three points of the Premier League summit. The Etihad outfit were in high spirits following goals from Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland, but Rooney believes the scenes at full-time were excessive for a team that hasn't secured the trophy yet.

Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, the former England captain suggested the Pep Guardiola's side were tempting fate. "[The celebrations] were a bit over the top," Rooney said on Sunday evening. "It's six games to go for City, it's obviously a big win. I just think it's a little bit premature and it might come back to bite them."

Despite the setback and the taunts from the City faithful, the mood in the Arsenal camp remains surprisingly optimistic. While City celebrated, Declan Rice was spotted delivering a short, sharp reminder to captain Martin Odegaard on the pitch, telling his skipper: "It's not done."

Arteta echoed this fighting spirit in his post-match press conference, saying: "I believe today, I believe on Wednesday a week ago (we can win the title) because I see them (players) every day and I know the level that we have. But today if they need to be more convinced, I think they are now more convinced. They were talking about it in the dressing room. It's a new league now. They have a game in hand. We have a three-point advantage and five games to play. So everything is still to play for."

The statistical models still favour the Gunners, with Opta giving Arsenal a 73 per cent chance of claiming their first league title in over two decades. Rooney, who remains a United man at heart, admitted he would prefer to see the trophy head to the Emirates rather than the blue half of Manchester, added that the pressure is now on the fans to keep their nerve: He said: "The Arsenal fans need to get behind their team and the importance of that is massive. The players will be nervous as well, they have got to show the players that they’re with them, give them their full support." With City set to face Burnley and Arsenal hosting Newcastle next, the psychological battle is just as intense as the one on the pitch.