Roy Keane points finger at Declan Rice as Arsenal wobble in title race | Football

Roy Keane says Declan Rice is not showing enough leadership in the Arsenal team as the Premier League leaders wobble in the title race.

The Gunners are still six points clear at the top of the table, but confidence has been rocked after a bad weekend for them.

Mikel Arteta’s men were beaten 2-1 at home by Bournemouth on Saturday lunchtime and then watched Manchester City romp to a 3-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

City are the team six points behind them, with a game in hand and with Arsenal going to the Etihad on Sunday in a mammoth fixture.

The home team at the Emirates underperformed against the Cherries and while he is not criticising how he has played, Keane feels Rice needs to raise the levels of his teammates.

The Manchester United legend feels Arsenal are suffering with nerves as the title race hots up and Rice is someone who needs to solve the problem.

‘This is where Rice has to show a bit more leadership skills, I know he’s doing his best out on the pitch but he’s got to get hold of people,’ Keane said on Sky Sports.

‘That was a nervous performance, but if you’re going to play top level sport…it’s ok being nervous, it’s how you deal with it. It’s your decision making and body language from certain players.

‘People like Rice, we’re talking about leadership skills, they’ve got to get a grip of people.’

The Irishman, who knows plenty about winning Premier League title races as a midfielder, says edgy Arsenal performances are down to the players, rather than manager Mikel Arteta who is coming under some pressure.

‘At Arsenal a lot of the feedback the last few days, people are looking at Arteta, the fans are nervous. No, this is on the players,’ Keane said.

‘The fans aren’t going to do it for you, the manager can only do so much. He’s got a brilliant squad together, you’re in a great position, do not let this slip.

‘At this moment in time they’re letting the nerves get the better of them but you’ve got to deal with that and that’s just footballing decisions.

‘And don’t go on an ego trip to play 50 passes, just hit the target man, because if we’re nervous I’d rather be nervous up there than nervous and us trying to be too clever and give the ball away cheaply.

‘They [Bournemouth] got confidence out of Arsenal’s nervousness. They’ve got to get a grip of that or it will slip by.’

Keane picked out Rice as an example of an Arsenal star who needs to show leadership, but it is a job for the entire squad, as he tells them that losing this title race will leave a scar.

‘This is on the players now,’ Keane continued. ‘We’ll find out about what kind of characters these Arsenal lads are over the next three, four, five weeks, what they’re made of.

‘Challenge each other, not being best mates with everybody, falling out with each other. If they slip up here, they’ll never forgive themselves.’

‘It’s a big punch in the face’

Speaking after the surprise loss to Andoni Iraola’s side, Arteta said: ‘We were very far from the level that we were shown. That’s for certain, especially in certain areas that are critical when you play against a team like Bournemouth. They were very clear. But, again, I don’t want to criticise any player, especially here, publicly.’

He added: ‘It’s extremely disappointing; it’s a big punch in the face, but what I said to the boys, now it’s about how we react to that, because it’s game on, it’s going to require now a big spirit, a lot of fight and very clear how we’re going to approach that.

‘There are no grey areas; we are in, we are out, and we need to be very, very, very strong and determined to approach it in a different way than we’ve done today, especially when the game wasn’t going our way.’

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