Roy Keane suggests that Arsenal, having closed the gap to Manchester City, are better positioned to win the Premier League this season.
Last year, City trailed Arsenal for much of the campaign but asserted dominance in head-to-head clashes, winning twice in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup with an aggregate scoreline of 8-2. However, this season is proving to be a closer contest, with City sitting six points behind Mikel Arteta’s men after a recent blip and a close encounter loss to Arsenal in October.
Roy Keane, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast sponsored by Sky Bet, expressed his belief that he has seen signs this season indicating that Arsenal will be able to withstand the challenge posed by City.
“The last three games [for Arsenal], the one at Brentford was a 1-0 win, a clean sheet away from home. It was an ugly game and a tough game, but I always felt they would get a goal in that game, and they did.
“Then against Luton, they’re all over the place, giving bad goals away, but still won so they’re winning different types of games even if it’s a bit ugly.”
Jamie Carragher, Keane’s punditry colleague on Sky Sports, holds the view that the goalkeeper situation and late goal issues could hinder Arsenal from making further progress this season.
Whilst that’s a valid argument from Carragher, the Gunners have this knack of winning games even without impressing. Often that is what the Championship winning teams tend to do.
But, you can also put Liverpool under that category as well – see their last couple of games for example.
This will be one of the best title racers in Premier League history.