Liverpool won the Premier League title by a 17-point margin, but Roy Keane criticised the Reds and praised Arsenal ahead of the final Premier League weekend
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Roy Keane did not mince his words when he commented on Liverpool's end-of-season form
Roy Keane did not mince his words when he commented on Liverpool's end-of-season form
(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
Roy Keane praised Arsenal as he hit out at Liverpool's approach to games after the Reds became Premier League champions. The Reds ended their campaign without a win in their last four league matches, and Manchester United legend Keane argued that Arsenal had shown a better mentality in recent weeks.
Liverpool wrapped up the season with a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, with Mohamed Salah salvaging a point late on at Anfield. The match was secondary to the Premier League trophy presentation, with the club celebrating a league title triumph in front of fans for the first time since 1990.
The Reds had sealed the league title with weeks to spare due to Arsenal and their other expected title rivals failing to keep pace with Arne Slot's side. However, before the season's final fixtures, Keane had praised Arsenal's attitude, referencing their comeback to draw with Liverpool earlier in the month, while he criticised the mentality of the new champions.
"Credit to Arsenal, everyone is criticising them towards the end of the season, but they came back against Liverpool," Keane remarked 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!".
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Keane's insights proved somewhat prescient as Liverpool concluded their season with a 1-1 stalemate against FA Cup champions Crystal Palace on Sunday. Meanwhile, Arsenal earned a 2-1 win at Southampton through a late Martin Odegaard goal.
After clinching the title last month after thumping Tottenham Hotspur 5-1, Liverpool stumbled in their final four league matches. They managed draws at Anfield against Arsenal and Palace and lost away to Chelsea and Brighton. Slot also took the opportunity to offer valuable minutes to several squad players.
Nevertheless, the underwhelming conclusion to Liverpool's campaign didn't seem to take the shine off their championship festivities. When asked about his plans for next season, Slot admitted that it would be difficult to retain the Premier League title and laid out the club's approach in the summer transfer window.
On next season's title race, Slot said: “We know it's going to be tough again, it was already very tough this season. 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."
Arne Slot
Arne Slot savoured lifting the Premier League trophy on Sunday(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League)
In terms of possible new signings, the Reds have already agreed a deal for Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong and are in talks over his star team-mate Florian Wirtz. “We did things differently last season. We didn't do, apart from signing Federico Chiesa last summer, we didn't do a lot and that makes it maybe even more special than to win it this season," Slot explained.
“Now we will see if the team needs… we can do things better already by ourselves without adding any players, but if we can, then we will definitely do so.”.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's win over Southampton and recent victory over Newcastle meant the Gunners enjoyed an upbeat end to the season, despite coming up short in the title race. "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.
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"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."
The Arsenal boss added: "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?'"