Roy Keane tells Mikel Arteta to 'show a bit of class' after icy Arsenal interview

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has laid into Mikel Arteta for his reaction to Arsenal’s draw with Manchester City on Sunday. The Gunners boss fired shots at referee Michael Oliver after title rivals City snatched an equaliser in the depths of stoppage time.

Arsenal went down to 10 men when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for delaying a restart at the end of the first period. Arteta set out a 6-3-0 formation for the entirety of the second-half as his side put up a stern front at the Etihad Stadium.

They held firm until the last minute of added time, when John Stones popped up to make it 2-2 and devastate last season’s Premier League runners-up.

After the game, Arteta felt particularly aggrieved at Trossard’s second booking and pointed to City’s Jeremy Doku going 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 had a very different outcome which then forces you to have a game which nobody wants to watch,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “I think it’s very clear. Very obvious.

“Hopefully what 100 per cent of what people thinks. Anyone that has played football or any sport [can see] it’s less than a second [between the referee blowing 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 moaned to Match of the Day about officials ‘extending’ the seven minutes added on despite several Arsenal players going down injured late in the game.

Reflecting on Arteta’s post-match reaction, Keane admitted he is growing tired of managers deflecting blame from 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 is coming out every week going: ‘No it wasn’t a foul, it wasn’t this, something had happened five minutes earlier’. Just come out and be big enough to say, you know what, players do daft stuff on a football pitch.

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