Roy Keane has slammed Arsenal for being soft after Nottingham Forest eliminated them from the FA Cup at the City Ground.
The Gunners were the favourites to win the fixture considering the gap between both clubs and how they have been performing in recent matches.
Arsenal has earned some impressive wins and also did well in their 2-1 loss to Manchester City in a previous league match.
The FA Cup game served as an opportunity for Mikel Arteta to rest some of his players and give chances to others.
But the fringe stars failed to impress, and it led to the club’s elimination from the competition.
Former Manchester United man and outspoken pundit, Keane says Arsenal didn’t show they are the bigger club and Forest were comfortable in the win over the Gunners.
He said as quoted by The Daily Mail: ‘You make the point Mark that they played really well last week against Man City. But they lost the game. There is still a softness.
‘We are watching the game here live and okay they are missing players but you’re still looking thinking “Arsenal are here for the taking”.
‘They didn’t show any sort of presence about them, they didn’t turn up here saying we are Arsenal Football Club we are going places, obviously there is a feel good factor around the club but that is a big setback for the club today.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
If Nottingham Forest eliminates you from the FA Cup, it shows the strength of your character and we should accept Keane’s take on this.
Arsenal should be able to make their presence felt by any club they are facing especially when they are not in the Premier League.
The defeat is one that we need to put behind us as quickly as possible and one way to do that is to beat Liverpool in both legs of the semi-final of the Carabao Cup.