Roy Keane clearly has zero intention of jumping on the Arsenal bandwagon.
Sitting fourth in the Premier League standings, Arsenal finally look to be moving in an exciting direction under Mikel Arteta.
Prior to their unfortunate defeat by Manchester City last weekend, the Gunners had won five outings on the spin across all competitions, netting 19 goals during that purple patch.
Overall, things are looking encouraging under the Spanish manager.
However, Manchester United legend Keane isn’t entirely impressed.
The iconic midfielder praised Arsenal for their young academy players and how they’ve turned around their season following a rotten beginning in August, but the Irishman is adamant that Arteta’s outfit remain ‘soft’.
He said on ITV Sport: “Considering where they were at the start of the season when they were under huge pressure. They’ve recovered well and got themselves in a good position.
“There’s some really great, exciting young players but I still feel there’s a softness. They’ve lost against the better teams and that’s where they need to improve.”
Classic Keano
Overlooking Arsenal’s stellar form and newfound ability to score goals to focus on the team’s collective ‘softness’ is classic Keane, it has to be said.
And honestly, the pundit is incorrect in his assessment.
There was nothing soft about Arsenal against Manchester City, as the Londoners played 40 minutes with 10 men and were only undone by a stoppage-time winner from Rodri.
Even Pep Guardiola sang the Gunners’ praises immediately after the contest, admitting they were the better outfit – despite playing with a numerical disadvantage.
‘Softness’ is an allegation historically levelled at the Emirates Stadium club – and frankly, for good reason – but this generation seem to boast significantly more resilience and Keane will alter his opinion sooner or later.
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