Roy Keane holds nothing back in most savage rant yet with ‘small team’ and ‘dinosaur’ dig at Arsenal and Mikel Arteta

Roy Keane has launched into a savage criticism of Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta after their 2-2 draw against Manchester City.

The Gunners maintained a 2-1 advantage for most of the second half, only losing it when John Stones scored a last-minute equalizer in the 98th minute.

Arteta’s team faced significant pressure, playing with just 10 men after Leandro Trossard received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Their defensive approach drew accusations of time-wasting, frustrating some fans who were critical of Arsenal’s tactics to run down the clock.

Keane expressed his dissatisfaction with Arsenal’s strategy in the second half during a discussion on The Overlap’s Stick to Football, saying, “How poor were Arsenal? Oh my God.

“If managers like Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce, or Neil Warnock set up a team like that for the second half, they’d be labeled ‘dinosaurs.’

“Arsenal’s setup—while there’s nothing wrong with defending—was concerning. A few times, they just kicked the ball out of play. But when Arsenal does it, it’s seen as ‘great concentration levels.'”

Keane criticized Declan Rice and others for simply clearing the ball upfield, emphasizing that this is Arsenal, not a Championship team struggling in the FA Cup.

He noted that Arsenal had previously achieved a clean sheet there, demonstrating they can perform well.

“There’s nothing wrong with defending deeply, but when you win the ball back, you need to try and create something,” he said. “They were just kicking it up the pitch!”

He added, “I’m not concerned about playing with one striker; even with an extra forward, they should focus on keeping possession. When they did have the ball, they needed to string together four, five, or six passes instead of just booting it away like a small team with a small mentality.”

Roy Keane shared these thoughts on The Overlap’s Stick to Football, sponsored by Sky Bet.

 

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