Was Arsenal ecstasy justified or a 'bit too much'?

When Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad linked hands and ran together toward both ends of the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, they weren't just celebrating a place in the Champions League final. They were participating in something that sports psychologists call "emotional contagion" — and for one evening, north London felt invincible.

Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid sent them to their first Champions League final since 2006, when Arsène Wenger's side fell to Barcelona. Now Arteta's squad has a chance to become the fourth English team — after Liverpool (twice), Manchester United (twice), and Manchester City (once) — to win both the domestic league and the European Cup in the same season.

Bradley Busch, a chartered sports psychologist who runs the training centre Inner Drive, told BBC Sport that the players' unified celebration reflected "a very healthy team and squad mindset."

"The technical phrase used in research is 'emotional contagion,' which basically says behaviours and attitudes and unity can spread and ripple through the team," Busch explained. "One way you can do that is through celebrating together." He added that anyone suggesting the reaction was over the top "feels a bit like the old celebration police going on there."

Not everyone agreed that the jubilation was warranted. Former England striker Wayne Rooney, who won the Champions League with Manchester United in 2008, offered a cooler take on Amazon Prime: "They deserve to be in this position but they haven't won it yet. I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win."

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright had a different response. "Arsenal fans, let me tell you something: enjoy this," he wrote on X. "The celebration police will be out in force. Do not get nicked! Enjoy yourselves. Football's about moments and this is a big moment."

Scarlet Katz Roberts, co-host of the Goal Difference podcast, captured what made the evening feel different. "I'll never forget the Arsenal players streaming onto the pitch, 'Freed From Desire' booming out around the ground," she wrote. "It wasn't stage-managed, it was just joy — so hard to come by but so simple. It's like the whole of the club and fanbase finally realised the sporting power of pure support."

For Busch, the celebration wasn't about what comes next — it was about release. "Players aren't doing that to try to improve future performance — they're doing it because it's a sheer release of thinking and breathing about this stuff 24/7 and realising your goals."

Wenger, speaking on beIN Sports, struck a balance: "The celebration is deserved and happiness is absolutely normal, but now the next step is of course to go to the final and win it."