“When Arsenal do it, it’s called ‘brilliant'” – Roy Keane Slams Mikel Arteta’s Side For Playing Like ‘A Small Team’ Against Manchester City

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has slammed Arsenal for their performance against Premier League holders Manchester City. Keane claimed Mikel Arteta’s boys played like a “small team” against Pep Guardiola’s champions, not even attempting to string passes together in the second half.

Manchester City Draw 2-2 With 10-Man Arsenal

Premier League aspirants Arsenal traveled to the Etihad Stadium for their Matchday 5 clash with Manchester City on Sunday, September 22. The Cityzens drew first blood in the ninth minute, with Erling Haaland applying a clinical finish from close range. Arsenal, however, were not rattled by the goal and got themselves back into the contest in the 22nd minute. Right-back Riccardo Calafiori scored the equalizer, finding the netting with a gem of a strike from outside the box.

Then, in the second minute of first-half injury time, Gabriel Magalhaes scored, giving Arsenal a 2-1 lead. The Gunners, however, did not have a pleasant ending to the half, as Leandro Trossard saw a second yellow for time-wasting antics.

Arsenal put everyone behind the ball to preserve their lead, withdrawing the idea of adding to their advantage. Their plan worked wonderfully until John Stones made it 2-2 for City in the very last minute of the game.

Roy Keane Slams Arsenal For Showing Small Club Mentality Against Man City

In the second half, the North Londoners only had 12.5% possession as they solely focused on preservation. Keane did not appreciate the approach and said it was not fitting for a club of Arsenal’s stature.

Speaking on SkyBet’s Stick to Football podcast, Keane said (via GOAL):

“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?”

The draw at the Etihad Stadium allowed Man City to stay at the top of the rankings. Arsenal, meanwhile, fell from second place to fourth and is now sitting two points behind the champions.