Roy Keane, among other pundits, questioned Arsenal’s overall approach after Chelsea defeated the Gunners at the Emirates.
Much like the opening weekend, when Arsenal lost to Brentford, the criticism continues to pour in after their latest defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates. The performance from Mikel Arteta’s team caused a lot of stir among pundits and the club’s fanbase, booing during half-time and full-time.
Chelsea showed their superiority right from the first whistle, with Romelu Lukaku scoring on his first game after re-signing for the Blues. The former Inter Milan striker scored from a tap-in around the 15th-minute mark, with Reece James adding a second in the first period.
Arsenal might have had a few shouts for goal but never looked like scoring against the Blues. The Gunners were missing several players, but there could be no excuses from Mikel Arteta for starting the season so poorly, especially considering the outlay on transfers the Spaniard has overseen this summer.
The fact is that Arsenal and Arteta are re-building this squad, and those signings are relatively inexperienced and young. However, the fans are discontent with the team’s overall energy on the pitch, which has seen them concede four goals in two games without an answer.
? "If Lukaku had a choice to come to Arsenal or Chelsea, he is going pick Chelsea everyday of the week."
Roy Keane has his say on Arsenal needing established players in the dressing room after their 2-0 loss against Chelsea ? pic.twitter.com/caTIt48ncO
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 22, 2021
Speaking after the game, Roy Keane made some sensible comments when the likes of Graeme Souness and Sol Campbell went overboard with their criticism. The Daily Mail published comments from their talk after the game.
Keane said, “Very comfortable, scored two, could have been seven if they really went for it the second half. We saw the quality in the players, confidence, they have a swagger Chelsea, and you can see the shortcomings of Arsenal. There’s no hiding place, Arsenal are well short and it’s going to be a long old season for Arsenal.
“Lot of uncertainty, they lacked the quality of Chelsea. He’s [Arteta] trying these things, they’re big spenders, but they’re buying potential. You need to give them longer; give the manager longer. Arsenal have very good young potential players.
“It won’t happen overnight, and the fans want to see progress. The last thing some of these fans want to hear is that it’s a project, and it will be good in two years. But that’s what the club have decided to do, and that’s why they need these senior players to help them along.
“But I don’t think Arsenal have top quality senior players who have good habits, which will help the young lads. If you’re a young lad coming into the club in the last month or two, you’re coming to a club that’s on the owner or has any momentum behind them.”
However, later, Souness suggested that it would take time for the current crop to blossom. To which Keane told they dip into the transfer market to find a solution, although doubted if any top stars would want to join Arsenal at this stage.
He said, “You’ve seen Manchester United get [Raphael] Varane and Liverpool get [Virgil] Van Dijk when they were building, and Arsenal need to buy an established player. Which top players are going to want to come to Arsenal? That’s why they’re buying these young potential players. If Lukaku had the choice to play at Arsenal or Chelsea, he would pick Chelsea every day of the week.”