- Mikel Arteta has criticised officiating performances after drawing vs Man City
- Sky Sports Pundit Roy Keane said Arteta should stop focus his energy elsewhere
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Roy Keane has torn into Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his post-match comments about referee Michael Oliver’s decision to send off Leandro Trossard in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
Trossard was shown a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time for kicking the ball away, in an incident similar to Declan Rice’s dismissal against Brighton earlier this month.
Speaking in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, the Arsenal boss alluded to inconsistencies in Oliver’s decision-making after City winger Jeremy Doku was not booked despite also appeared to delay play by kicking the ball away.
‘There were two incidents, very similar.’ Arteta said, during a post-match interview. ‘In particular, one was very different with a different outcome that forces you to play a game that nobody wanted to watch.’
When drawn on the Trossard dismissal, Arteta responded icily: ‘You can ask me, but it’s that obvious I don’t have to comment.’
Mikel Arteta has criticised officiating performances in a frosty post-match interview following his side’s 2-2 draw vs Manchester City
But Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane has said Arteta needs to move past using the same excuse
Arteta (left) criticised Leandro Trossard’s sending off for delaying play after kicking a ball away – but not booking City’s Jeremy Doku, who appeared to do the same thing
Reacting to Arteta’s interview, Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane said that the Spaniard’s frustrations were misplaced.
‘Managers are coming out every week saying every decision is against them,’ Keane said on Sky Sports. ‘Just come out and accept it.
‘Deep down he’ll be satisfied with a point. Show a bit of class, manager of Arsenal. He probably deserved the red card, we reacted well and we move on.
‘That’s the end of it. Take your medicine and move on. Show a bit of class.’
The Man United legend said Arteta’s on-air grievances reflected a wider trend of managers being critical of officiating performances in the Premier League – one he’s growing tired of hearing.
‘Wouldn’t it be good if a manager came out after a game and just said: ‘Yeah, you know what he was a bit silly, it was a yellow card,’ Keane said.
‘Every manager is coming out every week going: ‘No, it wasn’t a foul, it wasn’t this, something happened five minutes earlier.’
Mikel Arteta’s post-match demeanour was frosty, as he gave short responses to reporters
Arteta fumed over Leandro Trossard’s dismissal, after the Gunners forward was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away
‘Just come out and be big enough… players do daft stuff on a football pitch, come out and show a bit of class and say: ‘The referee gave him a chance to send him off. We’re disappointed but we move on.”
Arsenal went into half-time 2-1 up after goals from defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel turned the game on its head following Erling Haaland’s early opener, but Trossard’s red card changed the game.
Arteta sent out his side in an ultra-defensive 5-4-0 formation after the interval to try and cling on to their lead and while City were utterly dominant in terms of possession and shots, the Gunners restricted them to efforts from range and looked set for a famous victory.
That was until John Stones’ 98th-minute equaliser kept City top and left Arteta fuming.
