Roy Keane has criticised Pep Guardiola’s suggestion that Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal was caused by fatigue, insisting the Premier League champions have more than enough depth to cope with a busy schedule.
City were denied all three points at the Emirates on Sunday after Gabriel Martinelli struck a late equaliser to cancel out Erling Haaland’s early opener.
Guardiola said that his players were “incredibly tired” after their midweek Champions League victory over Napoli and a quick turnaround before travelling to London.
“Hats off to the team,” Guardiola said after the game in north London.
“To score is so difficult when you’re not effective at high pressing, you’re not effective in the build-up.
“The mindset has to be strong but we have a lot of fatigue with the same players. Arsenal were better and we were incredibly tired.
“People don’t realise, the game against Napoli was so emotional and then you have to travel four or five hours to London. Yes, I am complaining about the schedule.”
Roy Keane has criticised Pep Guardiola’s suggestion that Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal was caused by fatigue, insisting the Premier League champions have more than enough depth to cope with a busy schedule
|SKY/PA
The comments did not sit well with Keane, who dismissed the argument that City were overworked.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Manchester United captain pointed out that Guardiola’s squad remains one of the strongest in Europe.
“If you’re talking about fatigue and schedules, we’re in September,” Keane said.
Pep Guardiola expressed a belief his Manchester City players were suffering with fatigue following their 1-1 Premier League draw with Arsenal
|PA
“They’ve just played two home matches. The United game was comfortable, Napoli had a man sent off after 20 minutes.
“They’ve not travelled halfway around the world. We all know the demands of modern football — two or three games a week is part of the job.”
Keane also suggested that rival Premier League managers would be surprised to hear Guardiola complaining about resources given the quality they possess.
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“Look at the players he has on the bench,” he continued.
“There must be managers up and down the league thinking, ‘If Pep thinks he’s got problems with the schedule and his squad depth, what about the rest of us?’
“I didn’t like that angle Pep was coming from.”
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Gabriel Martinelli scored a dramatic late goal for Arsenal against Manchester City on Sunday
| GETTYThe draw means Manchester City are now seven points behind Liverpool after the first five matches, adding early intrigue to the Premier League title race.
Arsenal, meanwhile, sit second in the standings and continue to show signs they can once again push Liverpool all the way after finishing second last season.
City will have the chance to get back to winning ways when they face Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before returning to league action at the weekend.
As for Arsenal, they're set to do battle with Port Vale that same evening as they look to win the League Cup for the first time since 1993.