Roy Keane devastates the Arsenal man by bemoaning his lack of quality while revealing major concerns for Arteta

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Roy Keane has taken one of Arsenal’s stars to task after their FA Cup exit at Manchester City, suggesting the player is not of the standard the Gunners need at the top level.

Mikel Arteta’s team is at the top of the English Premier League, by five points, with a match in hand against its closest rivals, Manchester City. But they know they can afford the pricey fee slip in the race to end their 19-year wait to become champions.

So when the two sides were drawn together in a titanic FA Cup fourth-round clash, both sides were expected to make changes. As time ticked by, both fielded very strong teams and it was Arsenal who had the best first-half openings.

But with the two teams equal at the break, Arsenal decided to make some changes with William Saliba replacing Rob Holding and Albert Sambi Lukonga replacing Thomas Partey.

The Ghanaian has been one of Arsenal’s best performers this season, along with Granit Xhaka in midfield. But Arteta knows his team lacks good coverage and the competition for the duo has to take a hit too.

Which is why Arsenal are doing everything they can to sign Brighton’s Moises Caicedo in the final days of the window. Arsenal have already seen a £60m bid for Caicedo, but he is likely to come again to try and secure his signature.

Their chances of closing the deal are increasing after the midfielder made clear his desire to leave.

Meanwhile, Arsenal must persevere with Lokonga.

The Belgian has had few chances to impress this season after his £17.2m arrival from Anderlecht in the summer of 2021.

Roy Keane is unimpressed by Arsenal star Lokonga

But after Barty was substituted in the second half, Kane was unimpressed by his role in City’s victory.

Despite this, fellow pundit Ian Wright offered some sympathy, saying on ITV: “I felt that way, but you see with someone like Sambi, he needs to play, he needs minutes. He needs to be able to understand where he is and take more care of him than he needs to.” To do and where he needs to be. You have to try to feel that danger and that’s why he needs minutes in games of this kind, because that’s where you’ll learn.”

Although Ken quickly expressed his concerns. He added, “But at this point, at this level, they’ve already learned that part of the game. It’s a huge concern.”

The critic was also left unimpressed with Arsenal’s performance.

“They’ve set such a high bar over the last few months,” Kane stated. “I thought we were going to get more from Arsenal tonight, I’m disappointed.

“We’ve seen the experience of the last few years, how to win games. One gag from Arsenal and they’re punished.

“They had to respond, they were out of the cup,” the former Ireland international continued. We expected more, but they showed glimpses.

“Great defense, a bit of luck, but you need more than that to beat Man City.”

Read more: Four Arsenal stars need an upgrade

Kane wonders about the strength of the Arsenal team

The winning goal, scored by Nathan Ake, sent Guardiola’s team to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

It leaves Arsenal with just two competitions to focus on: the Europa League and the Premier League.

However, Kane fears the defeat revealed an extreme lack of quality in Arsenal’s squad this season. Seven of their starting XIs are ever-present in the Premier League this season. Kane fears that the lack of a high-quality cover could prove their drawback in the title race.

He also feels that Arteta’s decisions will send a negative message to the players.

“When you’re beaten in a football game it feels that way. The players are going to fall back in the next few days, and I know they’re going to bounce back. And if Arsenal wanted to win the league, they’d say listen, we had to sacrifice this game.”

“When you make a lot of changes—particularly defensively—you’re sending a message. It’s saying we’re kind of not upset, and that’s not a good message to send.”

Read more: Arsenal agree upgraded striker deal to ease Arteta’s concerns after deflecting easier option

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