Roy Keane compares Erling Haaland to a League Two player and demands improvement – Footymercato.com

Roy Keane savaged Erling Haaland by comparing his all-round play to that of a League Two player after he struggled to make an impact against Arsenal.

Haaland was quiet throughout as Manchester City failed to score at home in the Premier League for the first time in 48 matches to be held to a 0-0 draw. The Norwegian was well marshalled by Arsenal’s commanding centre-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, with the latter being named man of the match.

He barely touched the ball in the first half and appeared strangely reluctant when the ball did drop to him in the penalty area in the second half, missing it with his left foot as David Raya came to close him down. It was a disappointing afternoon for Haaland, who nevertheless remains the Premier League’s top scorer with 18.

Former Manchester United midfielder Keane was very unimpressed with City’s talismanic striker and tore into him on Sky Sports. “The level of his general play is so poor – and not just today; his laying stuff off, headers or whatever it might be,” he said.

“In front of goal he’s the best in the world, but his general play for such a player – it is so poor. Not just today. He has to improve that. He’s almost like a League Two player – that’s the way I look at him. His general play has to improve. It will do over the next few years. [He’s a] brilliant striker but he has to prove his overall game. Has to.”

Haaland has struggled in particular against Arsenal, accumulating just 0.24 in xG over his last three games against them. Gabriel was a constant presence on Sunday, getting tough-tight and not allowing him any time on the ball.

But it wasn’t just the 23-year-old who had an off day in attack; all of City’s star players were not at their best. Kevin De Bruyne didn’t fashion many chances, while Phil Foden was anonymous and was withdrawn as part of a double substitution which brought Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku onto the pitch in the 61st minute.

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City attempted 12 shots, but only one was on target and Raya was never troubled. Therefore, Keane didn’t just point the finger of blame at Haaland. He added: “City are used to these challenges [but] that’s not what we saw today. When you’re coming up against teams that sit in, that’s when you need that quality.

“The easiest part of football sometimes is defending, you’re just sliding across and filling spaces, and that’s when you need your precise moments and quality. People like Foden, De Bruyne, Haaland, who were just off it. We’re talking just a few percent, you get away with it.

“Yes, we give credit to Arsenal, but watching City at the start of the game you could tell these top players who have been at it for years – yes, there’s injuries, they’ve had setbacks – but they’re not quite at it. The flow and precision in their passing is just off it, and that is the difference at this level.”

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