Roy Keane was proven right after praising Arsenal’s attitude compared to Premier League champions Liverpool at the end of the season.
The Gunners signed off the campaign with a 2-1 win over Southampton, courtesy of substitute Martin Odegaard’s late winner. Arsenal finished 2nd in the table for the third consecutive season and reached the Champions League semi-finals. Still, the highs that Mikel Arteta’s side enjoyed were overshadowed by their 17-point gap to Liverpool.
Despite failing to force a compelling title race, Arsenal were recently praised for their fighting spirit by Manchester United legend Roy Keane, who had plenty of battles with the Gunners during his playing days. Ahead of the final day of the season, Keane commended Arsenal for coming from two goals down to draw with Liverpool this month, while criticising the mentality of the newly-crowned champions.
“Credit to Arsenal, everyone is criticising them towards the end of the season, but they came back against Liverpool,” Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast. “They’re showing a bit of a fight and spirit.
“Liverpool have switched off – they’re irritating me. It doesn’t matter [that they’ve won the league], but the fringe players and the B team are coming in – what kind of message is that?
“I’m thinking come on – show a bit of class. Salah scores a goal and he’s taking pictures [against Tottenham Hotspur] – the game’s still on. Liven up a little bit!”
On the final day, Keane’s remarks were vindicated as Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw with FA Cup winners Crystal Palace on Sunday. A late Mohamed Salah goal cancelled out Ismaila Sarr’s opener as both clubs celebrated their respective trophy wins at Anfield, and Liverpool narrowly avoided the disappointment of a defeat at home on the final day.
Following the 5-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur that sealed the title last month, though, Liverpool failed to win any of their last four league games, drawing twice at Anfield to Arsenal and Palace while losing the other two on the road at Chelsea and Brighton. Manager Arne Slot also chose to rotate his squad for the final few weeks of the season, with several fringe players getting increased game time.
Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring for Arsenal
Martin Odegaard scored a late winner for Arsenal (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
It did not appear that Liverpool’s average end to the season dampened the team’s title celebrations. However, Arsenal’s battling draw with Liverpool and victories over Newcastle United and Southampton also ensured their campaign ended on an optimistic note.
“I'm very happy to finish winning the match. We wanted to leave that dressing room at the end of the season with a positive energy, with a good vibe,” Arteta said. “We had to say goodbye as well to a few players that won't be with us next season, and that was quite emotional as well. I think they deserved their appreciation and a good vibe around it.
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reflected on the season (Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
“We've done it and now we're going to have plenty of time to think, to analyse what happened in the season, to learn from it for sure. To take all the incredible positive things that the team has done regarding the circumstances and think, 'Okay, how can we now go into that little percentage that is missing to get where we want?’”
Meanwhile, Liverpool have already begun preparing for next season after agreeing a deal for Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong and holding talks with his team-mate Florian Wirtz.
Despite winning the league in his first season, Slot is expecting a difficult title race next year. “We know it's going to be tough again, it was already very tough this season,” Slot said.
“It's going to be probably just as tough or even tougher next season because the clubs that we've competed with this season have always, in every window, always invested a lot of money and they're probably going to do so this summer as well.”