Laura Woods reacts to viral Arsenal players mascot video which has seen stars slammed online

Laura Woods has weighed in after Arsenal players were slammed for not acknowledging a young mascot prior to the game against West Ham.

The Gunners' official Twitter account posted a clip, with the caption, "Making memories with our mascot,".

It racked up over six million views online, with the footage showing Arsenal player signing a shirt for the mascot before heading into the dressing room.

The video caused a serious stir, with plenty of people unhappy with the players not smiling or having a conversation with the young girl, who was clearly in awe of her idols.

Social media personality Rory Jennings branded it "disgusting", while Nick Knowles urged the club to invite her and her family back.

Presenter Woods, a huge Arsenal fan, felt the need to address the matter on the talkSPORT breakfast show she co-hosts with Ally McCoist.

Giving her honest opinion, the 35-year-old was highly critical of the players for the lack of eye contact and even though Arsenal's stars were laser-focused on the game at the London Stadium, asked, 'what does it take to say, 'Hi'?".

Woods also revealed she had been in touch with the club and that the youngster did spend more time with the players in the warm-ups, tunnel and for the walk on the pitch.

Image: Alamy

"I agree, it doesn’t take a lot just to acknowledge somebody with a smile,” Woods said.

“I think that video is quite symptomatic of football and footballers now.

“To add a little bit of context, I actually messaged the club because I think they thought ‘they all stopped and signed the shirt this is great’.

“Maybe that in itself is the problem that there’s now a disconnect between what you’re meant to do for those kinds of mascots.

“The club did say it’s part of a matchday experience so that’s not the only interaction she had with the players. She was a mascot, she went out on the pitch with them, she would have been on the pitch with them during warm-ups.

“I think there’s a lot of things we don’t see, but that’s not excusing that video because I watched it a couple of times over and in my head thought ‘oh wait was it cut off afterwards, maybe they did [acknowledge her]’ and I went back and watched it and they didn’t.

“Maybe it’s quite a good lesson, the reaction of the normal fans. It’s a pre-match routine and I get that, you’re in your bubble, but it doesn’t really take long just to make eye contact.

“I watched that little girl and the way she’s waiting for eye contact or any sort of acknowledgement. The Young Gunners get these incredible experiences so I’m hoping somewhere else along the line she had a great day and got that interaction but in that moment, what does it take to just say hi?”

Image: Alamy

Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 for the second consecutive game and are now four points clear of Manchester City, who they play next week.

SPORTbible has contacted Arsenal for comment.