Arsenal news: Roy Keane tells Mikel Arteta to ‘show some class’ after icy interview | Football | Sport

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has attacked Mikel Arteta over his reaction to Arsenal’s draw with Manchester City on Sunday. The Gunners boss fired shots at referee Michael Oliver after title rivals City bagged an equaliser in injury time.

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for delaying a restart late in the first period. Arteta deployed a 6-3-0 formation for the entire second half as his team put up a stern front at the Etihad Stadium.

They held out until the final minute of injury time when John Stones emerged to level the score at 2-2, completely demolishing last season’s Premier League runners-up.

After the match, Arteta was particularly aggrieved by Trossard’s second yellow card and pointed out that City’s Jeremy Doku went unpunished for kicking the ball away before a free-kick – even though a closer look at the incident shows that referee Oliver had asked Arsenal to move the ball to a different spot.

“There were two incidents, very similar, one in particular, but with a very different outcome, which forces you to play a game that nobody wants to watch,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “I think it’s very clear. Very obvious.

“Hopefully 100 percent of what people think. Anyone who has played football or any other sport (can see) that it is less than a second (between the referee blowing his whistle and Trossard kicking the ball away). Less than a second. The previous one (Doku) is more than a second. That’s it, simple.”

Arteta, who previously served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City, also complained to Match of the Day about officials ‘extending’ the seven minutes of added time despite several Arsenal players being injured towards the end of the match.

Reflecting on Arteta’s post-match reaction, Keane admitted he was fed up with managers passing the buck to their players. He told Sky Sports: “Wouldn’t it be good if a manager came out after a game and just said, ‘Yeah, he was a bit silly, it was a yellow card’.

“Every manager comes out every week and says, ‘No, it wasn’t a foul, that wasn’t it, something happened five minutes earlier’. Just come out and be big enough to say, you know what, players do crazy things on a football pitch.

“I understand that he comes out and defends his corner, but every now and then, and I don’t just mean Arteta, managers come out every week with every decision that goes against them. Take your medicine, show some class, your team did well today.”