"This is Arsenal we’re talking about, not a Championship team in the FA Cup" - Roy Keane slams Mikel Arteta for tactics against Man City
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane slammed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his tactics in the recent 2-2 Premier League draw to Manchester City. He highlighted how the North London club's players were booting the ball away instead of trying to create a chance in the second off.
Keane talked about how the likes of Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock were mocked for similar tactics while Arteta's side were hailed as 'brilliant'. He said on the Stick to Football podcast:
"If Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce or Neil Warnock set up a team like that for the second half, they are 'dinosaurs'. When Arsenal do it, it's called 'brilliant', it's 'concentration levels'. When they won the ball back, which they did every now and again, try and look after it and try and get up the pitch. There was an incident when [Ben] White just kicked it out of play, [Declan] Rice a couple of times, just kicked it up the pitch. This is Arsenal we're talking about – not a Championship team in the FA Cup – that's hanging in there."
"I'm on about when you've got it [the ball], still look after it. Don't even worry about playing one up front, but when you do get it try and get four, five, six passes. They were just booting it like a small team with a small mentality. When I see England international players just booting it out of play I'm going: 'What are you? League One? League Two?'" he added.
Arsenal went down to 10 men just before half-time after Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card. The Gunners were then leading 2-1 and they managed to hold onto that until the 98th minute, when John Stones equalized for the Cityzens.
Mikel Arteta proud of Arsenal players after Manchester City draw
Mikel Arteta was proud of the Arsenal players for their determination in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City. He claimed that his players took a big step towards the league title and showed that they can handle the pressure. He said in the post-match press conference (via StraitsTimes):
“They put their heart and soul into every single action and at the end to be punished in the last minute... they are gutted. But as well, they know that they have made another big step today as a team and individuals to be able to do what they’ve done today here. We were given a context to the game that made it almost impossible... but we adapted to that context in the best possible way."
The Gunners are currently fourth in the Premier League table, while Manchester City are leading the standings.