Roy Keane had one big criticism of Liverpool despite praising ‘fight and swagger’ against Arsenal
Roy Keane was impressed with many aspects of Liverpool’s performance against Arsenal on Thursday night, although he had one notable criticism of the Reds.
Arne Slot’s side came away from the Emirates Stadium with a share of the spoils after a second 0-0 draw in eight days, and they could even have won it had Conor Bradley’s first-half lob over David Raya gone under the crossbar rather than rebounding off it.
The visitors also had a claim for a penalty turned down early in the second half when Florian Wirtz was bundled over in the box by Leandro Trossard, but the officials didn’t believe that it warranted a spot kick.
What did Keane make of Liverpool’s performance?
Speaking on punditry duty for Sky Sports after the match, Keane was impressed by Liverpool’s overall performance but bemoaned a lack of penetration in the final third.
The ex-Manchester United captain said: “Liverpool didn’t deserve more than what they got because obviously you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net. They lacked that cutting edge.
“I was worried about their midfield before the game but I shouldn’t have been. They controlled it. Liverpool were by far the better team.”
He added: “Credit goes to Liverpool in terms of the way they dominated possession. Liverpool took the energy out of the stadium perfectly well. Liverpool showed a bit of fight and swagger that they are champions but just lacked that cutting edge.”
Liverpool failed to record a shot on target tonight
The ‘fight and swagger’ that Keane mentioned has been all too lacking in quite a few of the Reds’ matches this season, but that certainly wasn’t the case tonight (especially when Dominik Szoboszlai had it out with Gabriel Martinelli for pushing the stricken Conor Bradley).
Although Arsenal narrowly came out on top in the shot count (9-8), Liverpool were on top for most of the second half and weathered an early storm from the Gunners, with Alisson Becker not overly troubled until a late rally from the home side in the closing stages.
As admirable as LFC’s overall performance was, though, it was disappointing that they failed to record a shot on target all night, with Raya not having a save to make. Even with Hugo Ekitike, Mo Salah and Alexander Isak all absent tonight, the lack of cutting edge up top is a problem.
If Slot’s side can add that all-important killer touch in the final third to the defensive solidity that they showed at the Emirates, that combination should see them win a lot more often than they lose in the second half of the season.
Hopefully when Liverpool’s attacking options are replenished to near full-strength, the goals which were lacking tonight and against Leeds last week will flow, and we can strengthen our position inside the top four.
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