Roy Keane urges Mikel Arteta to 'show some class' after frosty Arsenal interview

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has hit out at Mikel Arteta over his reaction to Arsenal's draw with Manchester City on Sunday. The Gunners boss took a swipe at referee Michael Oliver after title rivals City snatched an equaliser deep into added time.

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men after Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart at the end of the first half. Arteta used a 6-3-0 formation throughout the second half as his side presented a tough line at the Etihad Stadium.

They held on until the final minute of added time when John Stones stepped up to make it 2-2 and devastate last season's Premier League finalists.

After the game, Arteta felt particularly aggrieved by Trossard's second booking and pointed out that City's Jeremy Doku had gone unpunished for kicking the ball before a free-kick – even though a closer look at the incident shows referee Oliver had asked Arsenal to move the ball to another spot.

“There were two incidents, very similar, one in particular, but they had a very different outcome, which forces you to have a game that nobody wants to watch,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “I think it’s very clear. Very obvious.

“I hope that's what 100% of people think. Anyone who's played football or any other sport [can see] it's less than a second [between the referee blowing and Trossard kicking the ball away]. Less than a second. The previous one [Doku] It's more than a second. That's all, it's simple.”

Arteta, who was previously Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City, also complained to Match of the Day that officials were “extending” the seven minutes of added time despite several Arsenal players being injured late in the game.

Reflecting on Arteta's reaction after the game, Keane admitted he was fed up with managers blaming their players. He told Sky Sports: “Wouldn't it be nice if a manager came out after a game and just said, 'Yeah, he was a bit of an idiot, it was a yellow card'?

“Every week, every manager comes out and says, ‘No, that wasn’t a foul, that wasn’t it, something happened five minutes earlier’. Just come out and be big enough to say, you know what, players do stupid things on a football pitch.

“I understand he's going to come out and fight for his side but every now and then you have to come out, and I'm not just talking about Arteta, managers every week come out with decisions that are against them. Take your medicine, show some class, your team played well today.”