Roy Keane has named a key reason why Arsenal have fallen short to Liverpool and Manchester City in recent Premier League title races.
The Gunners have finished as runners-up in the top-flight for the last three seasons in a row – with Liverpool clinching the trophy last time around.
In the two campaigns before that, Arsenal missed out to City, with the north London club having not won the Premier League title since 2004.
Keane, speaking after Arsenal beat his former club Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday, feels the reason is because the Gunners do not kill games off in the same way that Arne Slot’s side or Pep Guardiola’s men do.
‘You wonder why Arsenal are still coming up short – it’s because they are still happy to sit back at 1-0,’ Keane said on Sky Sports.
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‘And then you think, is that the reason you drew so many games last year? You compare that to Man City and Liverpool.
‘They are always looking to go on and get the second or the third. Even on a bad day they can score two or three goals.’
Keane: Arsenal need to be more clinical
Keane added: ‘The sign of a really good team is when you’re not at your best and you win football matches.
‘The worry for me in the second half is there were opportunities to really go at Man Utd, but they seemed off it from that point of view.
‘Arsenal need to be clinical in their play and really go for that second or third goal.’
Arteta: We were clearly not at our best
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits his side were ‘clearly not’ at their best at Old Trafford – but was delighted with the ‘resilience’ the Gunners showed.
Speaking to the BBC, Arteta said: ‘We came here away and won which is a big result. We were clearly not at our best.
‘We attacked the box and we reacted well to unusual mistakes. The team reacted time after time in an incredible way. Very proud of that because that is why we got the opportunity to win the game.
‘We showed a resilience and a will to win. They put you on the ropes here, you will have to have moments when you suffer. To find a way to win at this ground, I’m very happy with the team.
‘[The new signings] have made a good impact on the team, they had a great attitude.
‘Physically some of them are still not at the level we require for 95 minutes but we will get there.’