Roy Keane turns full circle on Mikel Arteta as he delivers rarely-heard praise to Arsenal
Arsenal look the team to catch in the race for the top four after a 3-2 win at Watford – and their huge improvement has forced pundit Roy Keane into a remarkable U-turn.
The Gunners have won eight of their last 10 Premier League matches, losing just once – to Man City – in the race for fourth. Arteta’s side are now a point clear of Manchester United. Perhaps more significantly, they have also played three games less than the Red Devils.
Their latest triumph came at Vicarage Road on Sunday, where excellent goals from Martin Odegaard, Bukary Saka and Gabriel Martinelli secured a 3-2 win. You can read about their eye-catching display right here.
Their run of form is perhaps comes as a surprise to plenty. Arsenal were accused of having a “softness” about them before. And the main man of brandishing that tag, Keane, has now been forced into an unprecedented U-turn.
He now rates Arteta’s side and has commended both their performances and resilience.
“It’s been an amazing turnaround considering where they were at the start of the season,” Keane told Sky Sports, as cited by the Daily Mirror.
“Now they’re probably favourites to finish in the top four.
“We’ve always questioned whether there’s a bit of softness to them. But they’re in a good moment now and they’ve always had that quality.
“Against Wolves they found a way to win the football match, they kept going and grabbed a late goal. That’s the key to success.
“You can have your off days, but you find a way to win and it was a huge three points for them.”
Roy Keane U-turn illustrated by previous comments
Just two months back, Keane admits he was unsure if Arsenal have the character needed to finish fourth.
“After the start they had, yeah, they deserve credit for turning it around. They’ve got some fantastic young players at Arsenal,” the former united captain stated in January.
“The question now is can they really push on and make that top four? I’m not so sure.
“I still think they’re a bit soft at times. Especially against the bigger teams.”
However, after they forced to grind it out at times at Watford, it illustrates just what a fantastic job Arteta has done at Arsenal.
They next face Leicester at home next on Sunday before hosting Liverpool on Wednesday March 16.
READ MORE: Arsenal set for more disappointment with striker target ‘destined’ for Inter Milan
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