Roy Keane was once unconvinced by Arsenal’s progress under Mikel Arteta (Image: Getty)
A past dispute between Roy Keane and legendary Everton player Tim Cahill has surfaced, leaving the player flushed. Following a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in November 2020, Cahill maintained that Arsenal was improving, but Keane thought that opinion was out of date.
After Arsenal had dropped three of their first seven games of the 2020–21 season, Arteta was under increasing pressure to turn around his team’s performance. Cahill did, however, see encouraging indications that things were moving forward at the Emirates Stadium.
Thanks to a penalty kick from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Gunners defeated United at Old Trafford, ending a run of back-to-back losses against Manchester City and Leicester. When it came to Arsenal’s advancement under Arteta, Keane and Cahill disagreed, with the former captain of United not being convinced.
Cahill started out by saying, “You can see how aggressive and high press Arsenal was against Leicester.” They had all of their players within eighteen yards at a corner here against United. They intended to win the second and third balls by suffocating United.
Keane, however, chimed in, drawing attention to Arsenal’s dismal performance despite their forward-thinking approach. “You talk about the high press, did they lose against Leicester?” he asked.
“But Mikel will know the reason why they lost,” cackled back. In the first half, they squandered their opportunities.
Keane persisted in downplaying Arsenal’s progress and inquiring, “How many league games has Arsenal lost this season?”
However, Cahill added in an analysis that has stood the test of time: “Arsenal are progressing because there is an identity.” Their style of play follows a formula. They are going to play out and will keep playing out from behind. Mikel merits recognition.
Keane joked that Arsenal was being presented as a top team, which was inconsistent with their performance. Questioning Cahill, the Irishman asked, “How many games has Arsenal lost this season? They just triumphed over a subpar United team. Arsenal suddenly becomes the new Bayern Munich. Please do me a favor.
Cahill’s predictions regarding Arsenal and Arteta have come true. Arsenal has demonstrated the disparity in quality between them and United in the four years since Keane and Cahill discussed their advancement, even though they won by the same slim 1-0 margin on Sunday.
The Gunners have challenged Manchester City for the Premier League championship twice, and Arteta’s team will probably win the trophy if they lose before the season ends. United, on the other hand, is eighth in the Premier League after a dismal campaign.
