da betano casino： It might not be fair, but the fallout from last weekend's win over Liverpool means the Gunners are under more scrutiny than ever before

da dobrowin： Even two of Arsenal's greatest players were divided over the celebrations that followed last weekend's vital win over Liverpool at the Emirates. Ian Wright was quite justifiably outraged that a few fist-pumps from Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard taking a picture of a photographer dominated the post-match discourse.

"Why is everybody trying to kill the joy? Don't kill the joy," the legendary striker pleaded in a video posted on social media. "There's so much of the season to go. As soon as Arsenal do anything, they just come under a pile-on. It's like we can't have any joy….the hatred is just so intense."

Lee Dixon said he could fully understand his former team-mate's point but admitted to feeling "caught right in the middle" of the debate. "I was celebrating because it was such a brilliant performance, but as a player when I was in that situation, you've got to be respectful," the former full-back told . "You celebrate your win, but you don't over-celebrate."

Getty The Arsenal 'bottlers' narrative

The one thing that they both agreed on wholeheartedly, though, was that the haters are now lining up to stick the boot into Arsenal, salivating at the prospect of Arteta and his men 'bottling' it again.

The Gunners didn't throw away last season's Premier League, of course. They were simply and inevitably ground down by the winning machine that is Manchester City, who are presently pursuing a fourth consecutive title – and a sixth in seven years.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesArsenal immature or City simply inevitable?

City's state-sponsored era of sustained success does not make for a particularly sexy narrative for the supposed 'best league in the world', though, so there was much media focus on Arsenal's alleged implosion.

Remember, the nature of the celebrations that followed last season's wins over Aston Villa and Bournemouth were also discussed at length in TV studios at the time and retrospectively interpreted as evidence of the "immaturity" that Gary Neville referred to again on Sunday – as if it were a key factor in their collapse, when, in reality, an injury to William Saliba was of far greater significance.

Arsenal just didn't have as strong a squad as City – and nobody else in world football does right now or indeed ever before, which is why they're presently on course to complete a double-treble.

imago images'Arsenal have to be pitch perfect'

Thanks to last weekend's win, the Gunners ensured that they will still have a big say in this season's title race (they go to the Etihad at the end of March), but there's no denying that the pressure on them has actually been increased rather than lessened by beating Liverpool because of the rather ridiculous furore that followed.

As Dixon added, "They've won absolutely nothing and there are still 15 games to go… So, Arsenal have to be pitch perfect from now right until the end of the season." Starting on Sunday afternoon.

GettyWest Ham silence the Emirates

Make no mistake about it: a meeting with West Ham is a treacherous assignment for Arsenal. There is every chance that the confidence gained by a positive performance against Liverpool could be immediately wasted.

After all, it's already happened once this season. After earning a 1-1 draw at Anfield on December 23 with a battling display that was hailed as proof of Arsenal's greater mental strength this season, Arteta's men suffered a shock 2-0 loss at home to the Hammers just five days later. They were still coming to terms with that reversal when they were beaten 2-1 at Fulham on New Year's Eve.

A similar slump simply cannot be tolerated this time around, not with Arsenal likely to be five and three points behind Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively, when the game at the London Stadium kicks-off.