Martin Odegaard has defended Arsenal’s celebrations after the win over Liverpool and explained why he took photos of the club photographer.

Arsenal won a key clash against league leaders Liverpool on Sunday, running out 3-1 winners in Jurgen Klopp’s final trip to the Emirates Stadium as the manager of the visitors.

The result lifted Arsenal into second place, albeit with Manchester City having games in hand, and it cut the gap to Liverpool from five points to two.

On a day where Arsenal could have slipped to points off the top, it was a win worth celebrating, which the players and fans duly did.

But that provoked some bizarre backlash from various TV pundits, who accused the Gunners of enjoying the win too much.

In particular, Martin Odegaard was criticised for a nice moment where he took a picture of club photographer Stuart MacFarlane, a role-reversal from the club captain.

“Just get down the tunnel, you’ve won a game, it’s three points,” said former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher in response to the images of Odegaard’s post-match celebration.

Odegaard defended the team’s actions in a post-match interview soon afterwards.

“I think everyone who loves football, who understands football, they know how much it means to win this game,” Odegaard said.

“And if you’re not allowed to celebrate when you win a game, when are you allowed to celebrate?

“We are happy with the win and we’ll stay humble. We keep working hard and we prepare for the next one — but you have to be happy when you win.”

As for the pictures of the club photographer, Odegaard explained why he took them.

“He is such a big Arsenal fan, such a big heart for the club, he’s been here so long… yeah, I thought it was a nice moment for him to get a good memory as well.”