“Mikel Arteta Hits Back with Sharp One-Word Reply to Roy Keane’s ‘Small Team’ Remark”
“Mikel Arteta Fires Back with One-Word Response to Roy Keane’s ‘Small Team’ Jibe at Arsenal”
Mikel Arteta was in no mood to get involved with Roy Keane over his comments about Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta issued a one-word response to Roy Keane’s damning comments about Arsenal following their hard-fought draw with Manchester City.
Arsenal played out an intense 2-2 draw with Man City at the Etihad last weekend.
Arteta’s side played the entire second-half with 10 men following the dismissal of Leandro Trossard, who was shown a second yellow card just before the break.
The Gunners seemed destined to secure a famous victory until John Stones popped up in the 98th minute to equalise.
In the aftermath of the result, Arsenal were slammed by fans and critics alike for their ‘dark arts’ during the game.
Keane ridiculed Arteta for his tactics against Pep Guardiola’s team, calling Arsenal a ‘small team with a small mentality’ in a scathing assessment.
“They were just booting it, like a small team with a small mentality,” he said.
“Go back three or four weeks, Arsenal did the same thing against Brighton with 10 or 15 minutes to go – the goalkeeper went down against Brighton at home.
“This idea that they’ve gone to the great Man City, their mindset against Brighton at home was exactly the same – that’s my argument.
“I’m saying when you’ve got it, still look after it. When you do get it, try and get four or five passes together.
“They were time-wasting against Brighton at home, so forget this idea it was Man City.”
Speaking in his press conference ahead of Arsenal’s game against Leicester City on Saturday, Arteta was asked about Keane’s comments.
But he refused to get involved in a spat with the Manchester United legend, simply saying “no” when asked to give a response.
Arsenal have picked up 11 points from their opening five league games this season.
They sit in fourth place and are two points behind league leaders Man City at this early stage.
