Arsenal: What Tim Cahill and Roy Keane said about Mikel Arteta in 2020

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·17 January 2023

Arsenal: What Tim Cahill and Roy Keane said about Mikel Arteta in 2020

A clip of Tim Cahill arguing with Roy Keane about Mikel Arteta and Arsenal in November 2020 has gone viral on social media.

Arteta’s Arsenal currently sit eight points clear at the top of the table as we approach the halfway stage of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.

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The Gunners secured their first victory at Tottenham’s new stadium on Sunday to extend their lead over second-placed Manchester City, who dropped points against neighbours Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime.

It’s fair to say that Arteta and his players are exceeding all expectations so far this season.

Nobody expected them to win the title after narrowly missing out on a top-four finish last term.

In the eyes of many fans and pundits alike, Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea appeared too strong for the Gunners to compete with.

But the aforementioned trio have all struggled to hit top gear this season and it’s Arsenal who are now favourites to lift the Premier League trophy in May.

Since Arteta replaced Unai Emery as Arsenal boss in December 2019, it’s been far from plain sailing for the Spaniard.

But despite calls for him to lose his job at various points during his tenure, Arsenal’s hierarchy stuck by their man, aware of all the hard work that was going on behind the scenes.

What did Tim Cahill say about Arsenal and Arteta in 2020?

Someone else who could see what Arteta was building at the Emirates Stadium was his former Everton teammate, Tim Cahill.

Cahill was a guest pundit on Sky Sports when Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in November 2020.

That win only lifted Arsenal up to ninth place in the Premier League table after a poor start to the 2022-21 campaign.

Man United legend Roy Keane was also part of the Sky Sports panel that day and couldn’t understand why Cahill was being so complimentary about Arsenal.

But Cahill had seen enough to convince him that Arsenal were on the right path under Arteta, despite the fact the Gunners had lost three of their opening seven league fixtures – including a 1-0 defeat at home to Leicester one week earlier.

“When you watch Arsenal against Leicester and you see the high press, how aggressive they were,” Cahill said.

“In this half here [vs United], Arsenal were just outside the 18-yard box on a corner – all four. They were trying to suffocate them, press them in, win the second ball, win the third ball…”

Keane fired back: “You mention the high press but they lost to Leicester! Did they lose to Leicester? Did they lose to Leicester? Brilliant…”

Cahill replied: “But they know why they lost. Mikel knows the reason why they lost. They missed their chances in the first half.

“The key thing is Arsenal are progressing because there’s an identity, there’s a formula to the way they play. They play out from the back and they’ll keep playing out from the back – and that’s why I think Mikel deserves a lot of praise.”

Becoming increasingly agitated by what he was hearing, Keane hit back: “How many games have Arsenal lost this season?”

A calm Cahill said: “They’ve lost a few games but they know why they’ve lost. They’re learning and progressing.”

Keane ended the argument by saying: “I know why they lost. They won today against a poor United team and all of a sudden, what, they’re the new Bayern Munich? Do me a favour.”