- Mikel Arteta has criticised the referees’ performance in a post-match interview
- Sky Sports analyst Roy Keane said Arteta should no longer focus his energies elsewhere
- Arsenal, reduced to ten men, had to settle for a point after a 2-2 draw with Man City
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Roy Keane has criticised Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his post-match comments regarding the referee’s decisions during the Gunners’ 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
Arteta particularly criticised referee Michael Oliver’s decision to send off Arsenal midfielder Leandro Trossard after the player was shown a second yellow card for kicking a ball that had gone out of bounds.
In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, the Arsenal manager pointed to inconsistencies in the officiating after City winger Jeremy Doku appeared to slow down play by kicking the ball away.
“There were two incidents that were very similar,” Arteta told an interviewer. “One was very different, with a different outcome, which forced you to play a game that nobody wanted to see.”
When he sent Trossard off, Arteta responded coolly: ‘You can ask me, but obviously I don’t have to comment on it.’
Mikel Arteta has criticised the referees’ performance in a cool post-match interview
But Sky Sports analyst Roy Keane has said Arteta must move beyond the same excuse
Arteta (left) criticised the red card for Leandro Trossard for slowing down play after kicking the ball away – but he did not show a yellow card to City’s Jeremy Doku, who appeared to do the same
Sky Sports analyst Roy Keane responds to Arteta’s interview and believes the Spaniard’s frustrations were unwarranted and that he can no longer blame the referees when things don’t go his team’s way.
“Managers come out every week and say every decision is against them,” Keane said. “Just sit down and accept it.”
“Deep down he’ll be happy with a point. Show some class, Arsenal manager. He probably deserved the red card, we reacted well and we move on.
That’s the end. Take your medicine and move on. Show some class.’
The former Man United legend said Arteta’s televised complaints were a reflection of a wider trend of managers being critical of refereeing performance in the Premier League and he was sick of hearing it.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if a manager said after a game: ‘Yeah, you know what, he was a bit stupid, it was a yellow card,'” Keane said.
‘Every manager comes out every week and says, ‘No, it wasn’t a foul, that wasn’t it, something happened five minutes earlier.’
Mikel Arteta’s demeanor after the match was cool as he gave short answers to reporters
‘Just come out there and be big enough… players do crazy things on a football field, come out and show a bit of class and say:
“The referee gave him the chance to send him off. We are disappointed, but we move on.”