Arsenal bowed out of the Champions League round of 16 for the sixth season in a row, as they lost against Barcelona with a 5-1 aggregate. Manchester United legend and motormouth par excellence Roy Keane couldn’t contain his disdain for the Gunners’ performance and slammed them, even calling their players ‘weak’.
Arsenal bowed out tamely against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, just three days after being dumped out of the FA Cup by newly promoted Watford. The former Red Devil blasted the Gunners’ players, accusing them of being mentally weak and claiming that they were disappointing their manager and cheating their fans.
“It tells you that they’ve got a weak group of players, who can’t seem to lift it for certain games,” said Keane of Arsenal’s lacklustre season so far, according to the Mirror.
“There’s no great shame in losing 3-1 tonight, the effort was there – but I think Barcelona had switched off – but it must be hard for the manager to stomach that, and for the supporters when they see their players lift it for certain games, but they can’t do it for Watford at home, or Swansea at home,” he said about the loss to Barca.
“They’re cheating the supporters in that sense.”
Only the Premier League can save Arsenal now
The frustration of the fans at Arsenal’s inability to win the Premier League for well over a decade now was until recently mildly alleviated by their performance in the FA Cup. The Gunners’ had won two consecutive FA Cups before this, and were looking to complete a historic FA Cup treble this time around. However, their hopes were stung by the Hornets on Sunday, as they lost 2-1 and bowed out of the competition after a 15-game unbeaten run in the past three years.
The Champions League fixture against Barcelona was always a difficult hurdle, but Arsenal didn’t do much to make it any easier for themselves. After their imminent exit at the Camp Nou, Arsene Wenger finds himself on the brink of a trophy-less season, which could even be his last as Arsenal’s manager.
Arsenal currently trail leaders Leicester City by 11 points with a game in hand, but with just eight rounds to go in the Premier League, it’ll be a tough task for Wenger to redeem himself by winning the league.
