“Are you still getting paid off by them?” - Roy Keane hits back at Arsenal legend after he defends Gunners’ tactics in Liverpool loss

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has hit out at Arsenal counterpart Ian Wright for not criticising Mikel Arteta's side. He questioned whether the Englishman was still on the Gunners' books and being paid by the club not to criticize them.

On the latest Stick To Football podcast, Wright backed Arteta's approach in the 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League last month, claiming that they had done well and would have won a point if it was not for the free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai. He said:

"We're away to Liverpool, they're scoring in every game, and we stayed in the game for a bit. [When others pointed at Bournemouth scoring twice at Anfield] That's Bournemouth, so what? We went there and played in a different way. It didn't work out, we maybe made our substitutes 10 minutes too late and he (Szoboszlai) scored a great goal."

Keane, along with Gary Neville, was not impressed with the comment, urging the Arsenal legend to criticize the tactics. He said:

"Just be critical of Arsenal for once in your life. Are you still getting paid off by them? Are you still on the wage bill, are you still getting wages off them?"

However, Wright refused to talk negatively about Arteta and the club, reaffirming his point that they would have come away with a draw, and it was a fair result. He said:

"No, I'm not going to be critical of them. If Szoboszlai doesn't score a great goal it's 0-0, it's a point, and I would take that."

Arsenal were away at Liverpool on August 31 in the Premier League, when they lost 1-0 to Arne Slot's side. Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the game in the second half from a 30-yard free kick.

Ian Wright backing Arsenal for the Premier League title this season

Arsenal legend Ian Wright spoke about the summer additions made by the Gunners, claiming that Mikel Arteta had done well to bolster the squad. He believes that the signing of Viktor Gyokeres makes them the favorites for the Premier League title again, and said on Stick To Football in August:

"We've added to a team that I think has finished second three times now, and we've added goals to it now. You know, Zubimendi, especially with that mid block, that we can't break. Zubimendi, watching how he plays, he can break through there. We've got Gyokeres; he can score goals." "But when you look at the fact that, you know, 17 goals, what was it, Liverpool, 17 goals, we were behind them the season before, seven against City. But defensively, we're brilliant against both of those teams. So if we can sort that out, and this mid block, then yeah, I'm going to go for Arsenal again, of course I am."

The Gunners are third in the Premier League after three games and face Nottingham Forest next on Saturday, September 13. Liverpool are on top with nine points, while Chelsea sit second with seven points from their three games.

Edited by Sripad