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Roy Keane has come to the defence of Mikel Arteta following his antics on the touchline in Sunday’s win against the Red Devils in the Premier League.
THE LOWDOWN: PASSIONATE ARTETA
Keane, who in his playing days, had some fierce battles with Arsenal, saw nothing wrong in Arteta’s passionate calls, appeals and celebrations as his side played the match of their lives against the Erik ten Hag-led Manchester United.
The former Manchester City assistant manager did not stay silent throughout the game and was booked in the first half after the referee deemed his appeals for a foul call to be awarded to his side after Luke Shaw clashed with Bukayo Saka.
He was lucky to escape a red card in the game for his theatrics as he coached his team from the sidelines to a hard-fought 3-2 win over their visitors.
THE LATEST: OKAY TO BE PASSIONATE
Marcus Rashford, the man in form for United, opened the scoring in the first half with a brilliantly placed low drive from outside the box. Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka equalized and put Arsenal in the lead respectively in the second half before Lisandro Martinez equalised for the visitors.
Nketiah scored In the 90th minute to restore Arsenal’s lead, extending their berth at the top of the table to five points ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who came within two points of them following their 3 – 0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the day.
Arteta was once again criticized for his antics during the game but Keane, despite being a Manchester United man through and through, saw nothing but passion in the Spaniard and commended him for standing up for his team.
Keane said to Sky Sports, as quoted by Metro: “Well I certainly wouldn’t worry about yellow cards, it’s the reds that you’ve got to worry about!
“But from the Arsenal point of view I think they’d be OK with it, because he’s obviously passionate and you’re not in this job to be liked!
“He’s there to win football matches for Arsenal and that’s what he’s doing.
“Listen, he’s got the yellow card, he has to take his medicine, but I generally have no problem with it.
“We see other managers doing stuff that we might not always agree with but they’re emotional, they’re passionate and I think that’s just because he wants to win. I wouldn’t be too harsh on him.”
Cesc Fabregas also spoke on the issue, echoing Keane’s words. “I always liked when I felt the manager had this type of passion and it brings other players to give that little bit extra,” to which Keane replied, “I’m the same. And Pep Guardiola the other night was criticised for his interview after the game, but I’ve always liked managers that are emotional and passionate. I have no problem with it.”
Meanwhile, Arteta himself had all but forgotten about the yellow card thanks to the Euphoria of winning the very high-stakes game. “Can’t complain,” he said with a grin when asked about the booking.
“You can always get better in life.”
THE VERDICT: NO PROBLEM AT ALL
Arteta’s passion for the game has proven to be his strength and there is no reason why anyone should be rattled by his touchline behaviour, as long as it does not get overly excessive.
Arsenal will now turn their attention to the FA Cup, where they will take the most significant litmus test of their season.
They have been drawn against Manchester City in the fourth round of the competition and the match will serve as a preview to their first clash of the season in a few weeks, which is the game that could decide if they end the season as Premier League champions.
