Roy Keane likens Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal tactics to four Premier League ‘dinosaurs’
Roy Keane has compared Mikel Arteta’s tactics against Manchester City to four Premier League “dinosaurs” after Arsenal tried “hanging in there”.
The defending champions needed a last-gasp John Stones equaliser deep into stoppage time to snatch a 2-2 draw against the 10-man Gunners in an absorbing Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
That brought relief for Man City after a frustrating second period in which the visitors had sat back to protect a 2-1 lead earned before Leandro Trossard was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Arsenal, runners-up for the past two seasons, did their best to disrupt and slow City, not only by playing deep but by time-wasting at every opportunity.
Manchester United legend Keane likened Arsenal’s style in the second half to those tactics employed by Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock throughout their career.
Keane said on The Overlap: “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’. 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 Ødegaard is a massive loss to Arsenal.”
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Former Scotland striker Ally McCoist reckons Arsenal will take more confidence from the draw against Man City than Pep Guardiola’s side.
McCoist told talkSPORT: “Arsenal will come away from the game against Manchester City with more confidence than their opponents. That game was a major test for Mikel Arteta’s side and they did well.
“They were coming off the back of a draw against Atalanta, and we mustn’t forget they played on the Thursday so would’ve only travelled back on the Friday, whereas City had an extra day to prepare. There were a few factors they could’ve moaned about, but they got on with it.
“Arsenal looked dangerous on the counterattack and they were a serious threat from set-pieces; Gabriel could have scored another before his goal. Arteta made his tactics pretty clear in bringing on the like of Ben White and Jakub Kiwior, with Kai Havertz dropping back into a four and nobody playing up front after the red card.
“Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were complaining about them not having an out ball, which was factually correct, but I could see what Arteta was trying to do. He nailed his colours to the mast, and he was 40 seconds away from completing what would’ve been an unbelievable result. There’s no doubt in my mind that Arsenal will take more from that game than City.”
