Arsenal were criticized for playing like “dinosaurs” against City, with Roy Keane issuing a scathing assessment of the Gunners.
The Gunners found themselves reduced to 10 men after Leandro Trossard received a second yellow card for wasting time late in the first half. After the Belgian was sent off, Arteta instructed his men to adopt an ultra-defensive stance by retreating deep into their own half to try to protect a slim 2-1 lead.
Despite their efforts to stifle City, Arsenal eventually conceded the goal in injury time, with John Stones scoring a spectacular equalizer to secure a 2-2 draw. They had just 12.5% of the ball in the second half, with Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz setting an unwanted Premier League record as they failed to complete a single pass in the match.
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Speaking on SkyBet’s Stick to Football, Keane hit out at Arteta and said: “If Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce or Neil Warnock put a team like that together for the second half , they are “dinosaurs”. When Arsenal do it, they say it’s “brilliant”, it’s a question of “concentration level” When they win the ball back, which they do from time to time. , they try to keep it and try to get back on the field There was an incident when. [Ben] White simply kicked the ball out of play, [Declan] Rice a few times just pulled him upfield. We’re talking about Arsenal – not a Championship team in the FA Cup – holding on.”
Keane didn’t just criticize Arsenal’s defensive performance; he also criticized what he perceives as a “small team mentality”.
“I’m talking about the fact that when you have it [le ballon]you still have to take care of it,” he said.
“Don’t even worry about playing attack, but when you have it, try to make four, five, six passes. They just kicked like a small team with a small mentality. When I see international players Englishmen kicking out of the game, I’m like, ‘What are you Ligue 1?'”
Arsenal will look to return to winning ways when they host a struggling Leicester side on Saturday. This will be followed by a high-profile Champions League encounter against Paris Saint-Germain, where their qualities will be put to the test by Luis Enrique’s side.
