Veteran broadcaster Richard Keys has insisted that accusations of Arsenal being ‘anti-football’ are laughable given Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s history.
Arsenal squandered a golden opportunity to beat Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday when they conceded a late equaliser in the 2-2 draw.
Leandro Trossard was sent off on the brink of half time and John Stones later stressed that Arsenal have become the master of dark arts as a team, often done to provoke the opposition emotionally.
The Gunners have been accused of using cynical methods to get results and employed a lot of gamesmanship to try and hold on to the win at the Etihad.
However, Keys is not buying that argument and insisted that Arsenal would have deserved the three points had they held on to their 2-1 lead.
Arsenal being termed ‘anti-football’ makes me laugh – Richard Keys
Keys scoffed at the suggestions that Arsenal used dirty tricks to get a result and insisted that the performance can’t be termed ‘anti-football’.
He insisted that Arsenal showed great steel and determination in the second half and defended well to almost keep Manchester City at bay and get the win.
The veteran broadcaster stressed that the allegations of ‘dark arts’ from the Manchester City camp are laughable given the way Guardiola’s teams have been playing since his days at Barcelona.
“I thought they were terrific. If they’d held on they would’ve deserved the win. I don’t buy the accusation their performance was ‘anti-football’”, Keys wrote on his personal blog.
“No, it wasn’t.
“There are two sides to a game of football – offence and defence. Arsenal took the game to City in the first half – then, after shooting themselves in the foot again, put on a magnificent show of dogged defending.
“It made me laugh when I read David Silva making those allegations – and whining about Arsenal’s ‘dirty tricks’. My goodness, what a glorious irony.
“Guardiola’s teams have always engaged in dirty tricks. He invented them at Barcelona and developed them at Munich and City.”
