Roy Keane has sent a warning to Arsenal and highlighted what they must do to make sure they win the Premier League this season.
The Gunners are now only six points clear of Man City after they were beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth on Saturday before Pep Guardiola’s side defeated Chelsea 3-0 a day later.
The action over the weekend has heaped pressure on Mikel Arteta’s men given they have finished second in the last three seasons following costly lapses late in the campaign.
Arsenal, who have played a game more than their rivals, have lost three of their past four games across competitions and face City at the Etihad on Sunday in a potentially season-defining clash.
And Keane, who was a Premier League champion on seven occasions with Man United, claimed the Gunners needed to get themselves together over the coming days.
‘It was a nervous performance from Arsenal and a big setback for them,’ Keane said of the defeat by Bournemouth on Monday Night Football.
Roy Keane has sent a warning to Arsenal after their lead at the top of the league was reduced
Keane said the Gunners need ‘to get a grip’ or the chance to win the title will ‘slip by’
‘It’s OK being nervous, but it’s how you deal with it. (I wasn’t impressed with the) body language from certain players.
‘They did overcomplicate things but they’re still in a fantastic position. People like Rice, we talk about leadership skills, they’ve got to get a grip of people.
‘People are looking at Arteta, the fans are nervous, but this is on the players. The fans aren’t going to do it for you, the manager can only do so much. He’s got a brilliant squad together and they’re in a great position, do not let this slip.
‘At this moment in time they’re letting the nerves get the better of them. They’ve got to get a grip of that or they’ll let it slip by.’
Arsenal’s display was in sharp contrast to City’s dominant 3-0 dismantling of Chelsea when they scored three second-half goals.
Jamie Carragher echoed Keane’s thoughts and highlighted the differences between the two title rivals right now.
‘Arsenal and Man City are trying to win the league differently,’ he said. ‘Man City have more penetration and quality in the final third.
‘(Their second half performance against Chelsea) was a complete contrast to the first half. This wasn’t about tactics, this was a mindset and those penetrating runs we didn’t see from Arsenal.
‘The thing for Arsenal is how they are here (points to his head). There will be this talk about Man City all week and they need to work out how they can overcome that.
‘But this manager is not going to change in the next week heading there (to Man City away). We know how Mikel Arteta is going to go about it, he’ll back his strengths, which are his back four and maybe Declan Rice in there (defensive midfield).
‘His strength is not the attacking sense. I’ve said all season they haven’t got an outstanding attacking player.’
Carragher also hit out at Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly for their poor defending in the run-up to Eli Junior Kroupi’s opener against Bournemouth.
He similarly criticised Noni Madueke for his workrate and focus, pointing to how Bournemouth left-back Adrien Truffert exposed him in both matches against the Gunners – and claimed that Martin Zubimendi is ‘really struggling’ right now and ‘having a tough time in midfield’.
Jamie Carragher highlighted the difference in how Arsenal and Man City are playing right now
Carragher also said that summer signing Martin Zubimendi ‘is really struggling’ right now
The Gunners are back in action on Wednesday when they face Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie where they hold a 1-0 aggregate lead.
Meanwhile, following the City encounter, they close out the campaign with fixtures against Newcastle, Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
And Keane claimed it is now or never for Arsenal and called on the squad to step up at this pivotal time.
He added: ‘This is on the players now. The manager has obviously got to do his bit.
‘But with the position they’ve got themselves into, the squad they are, we’ll find out about what kind of characters these Arsenal lads are over the next three, four, five weeks and what they’re made of.
‘If they slip up from here, they’ll never forgive themselves.’
