Roy Keane slams Mikel Arteta as ‘too defensive’ after Arsenal held 1-1 by Manchester City

Last Updated on 22 September 2025

Mikel Arteta’s men were frustrated by Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium, with only a late goal securing a point for Arsenal.

Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the opening ten minutes for Manchester City with a well-taken goal to continue a blistering start to his Premier League season.

Arsenal were too passive in their approach, and barely troubled Gianuigi Donnarumma up until stoppage time.

That’s when two substitutes changed the game for Arsenal, with Eberechi Eze putting Gabriel Martinelli through on goal.

Martinelli’s lovely dink salvaged a draw for Arteta and despite City parking the metaphorical bus, it was Arteta who came under fire.

Sky Sports duo, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane blast Mikel Arteta for defensive set-up

It was not until half time that Arteta brought Eze on for Mikel Merino and the momentum shifted.

Second-half, Arsenal were all over Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side recorded their worst ever possession stats and were boxed off in their own half for the majority of the game.

Yet, pundits like Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane couldn’t believe Arteta’s defensive approach. Particularly his choice of starting the midfield three featuring Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice.

Carragher called Arteta’s squad ‘the best’ in the league but criticized the manager for being cowardly.

“Time after time, when it comes to these big games he picks a team that feels like he is thinking more about the opposition.” Talking about the first half, Carragher added, “For me, that was a waste of 45 minutes.”

Similarly, Keane was also critical of Arteta’s tactics.

“When I’m looking at Arteta, I think his mindset is, ‘Let’s make sure we don’t get beaten today’.”

Then, the Manchester United legend called for a change in mindset, “They have to change that mindset, particularly at the start of the game today, ‘Let’s go at them’. It’s as if they were waiting for something to happen. They’ve got the quality, the strength and depth. What are they waiting for? Have they got that belief?”

Is Mikel Arteta’s defensive philosophy in big games holding Arsenal back?

As per the Daily Mail, Paul Scholes called Arteta out for ‘celebrating’ a draw at the Etihad Stadium. He pointed out that as good a result as a draw is away to a title challenger, it’s a win that can shift momentum.

Arteta has been conservative when it comes to playing big games. However, now with a deep squad, he really doesn’t have any reason to be as defensive as he is.

Taking a look at this season, so far, Arsenal barely scraped through at Old Trafford but were poor throughout the 90 minutes.

Arteta picked a team with four players having experience of playing as centerbacks and two holding midfielders against one of the poorest Manchester United sides in recent history.

Then, against Liverpool at Anfield, Arteta named three holding midfielders on top of a backline consisting of four defenders with experience playing at centerback. They lost to the Premier League champions, albeit a brilliant freekick, registering a single shot on target.

In the last fortnight, Arteta named a similar defensive line-up away to Athletic Club, and needed two goals in the last quarter of the game to win. Before copying the same playbook against Manchester City at Emirates, and getting a point with a goal in stoppage time.

Every time, Arsenal have been brave from the off, they’ve blown opposition away. The 5-0 against Leeds United at Emirates and 3-0 against Nottingham Forest are examples.

As a result, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine that the Gunners are in dire need of a change. If they want to end their 21-year wait of winning the league, Arteta will need to be braver. Otherwise, they’re resigned to another season of finishing second best.