Roy Keane brands Arsenal 'dinosaurs' and fears 'massive loss' to the team
Manchester United legend Roy Keane has criticised Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for the Gunners' approach in their draw with Manchester City on Sunday
by Jake Bayliss · The MirrorRoy Keane has compared Arsenal to football ‘dinosaurs’ for their performance against Manchester City.
The Gunners were moments away from recording their first win at the Etihad Stadium since 2015 during Sunday's clash. Goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes cancelled out Erling Haaland’s opener and put Arsenal on the verge of a crucial three points before John Stones’ late equaliser.
Mikel Arteta’s side relied on their strong defence to frustrate City, but their gameplan became significantly more difficult when Leandro Trossard was sent off at the end of the first half. The Gunners still looked to have succeeded until a last-gasp goal for the reigning champions. However, Arsenal’s focus on defence meant the Gunners offered no attacking threat after going a man down.
Manchester United legend Keane suggested that Martin Odegaard’s injury has dampened Arsenal’s creativity and could impact their title hopes. However, the Sky Sports pundit still slammed the team’s approach to the game and claimed that other managers would have been ridiculed for using Arteta’s tactics.
“If Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce or Neil Warnock set up a team like that [Arsenal at Manchester City] for the second half, they are ‘dinosaurs’,” Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. “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.
“They got a clean sheet last year, so they can get results. I’ve got nothing wrong with them defending and going deep, but when they got it, they didn’t do anything. Martin Odegaard is a massive loss to Arsenal.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! Do you agree with Roy Keane? Tell us in the comments section below
Arsenal gained four points from their two games against City last season but were criticised by some pundits after settling for a draw at the Etihad in March, instead of going all-out for three points. However, Arteta has defended his side’s approach last weekend, particularly after the red card, given how they had previously fared on City’s home turf.
“We learnt from the past. Unfortunately, we’ve been in the same situation a few times,” the Arsenal boss said. “We were in that same situation with Granit [Xhaka] after 38 minutes and we lost 5-0. We’d better learn. If not I would be thick, very thick.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports launches 'lowest price' Premier League package
£43 (was £52)
Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £216 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
With Ultra HD included at no extra cost, football fans can enjoy the 2024/25 season with crystal clear picture quality.