Roy Keane let his feelings about Arsenal be known after their stunning loss to Ostersund in the Europa League, taking particular aim at midfielder Jack Wilshere who he called the “most overrated player on the planet”.
Arsenal advanced to the last 16 courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate victory but it was a night to forget for the Londoners, who crashed to a 2-1 defeat Thursday.
A pair of first-half goals within 70 seconds from Hosam Aiesh and Ken Sema had Swedish visitors Ostersunds dreaming of the unlikeliest of upsets at the Emirates Stadium.
Sead Kolasinac ended Ostersunds’ hopes in the second half as Arsenal avoided an embarrassing exit but former Manchester United captain Keane took aim at the Gunners, with Wilshere firmly in his sights.
“Arsenal are a great example of how not to start a game of football,” Keane said on ITV . “They are so slow out of the blocks. Poor attitude, no energy, no desire. It’s not like a light switch, you can’t just turn it on and off.
“A lot of that will come from the manager and his coaching staff, but ultimately it has to come from the player. You have to motivate yourself. You have your pride and you want to do well for yourself, your team-mates, your family and to turn up like that was a shambles.
“We have seen it so many times from Arsenal. They went to Nottingham Forest [in the FA Cup last month] with exactly the same attitude and lost. You make excuses for Arsenal all the time, but it’s a load of rubbish. The Arsenal players must drive you crazy. A shambles.
“You look for your senior players to lead by example…when Wilshere is your captain, to me, he is probably the most overrated player on the planet.”
Arsenal will find out who their next opponent in the Europa League will be on Friday , but must put Thursday’s performance behind them quickly.
The Gunners face Premier League leaders Manchester City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
