'Show some class': Roy Keane hits out at Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta over complaints about referees

Mikel Arteta should 'take his medicine' and accept the referees' decisions instead of implying that everyone is against Arsenal.

That's the conclusion Manchester United Legend Roy Keane believes the Gunners manager should have “showed a bit of class” after earning a draw at the Etihad on Sunday.

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Arsenal led Manchester City The score was 2-1 at the end of added time, despite playing with ten men since the break. Leandro Trossard had received a second yellow card and was sent off for throwing the ball out to delay the restart after committing a foul on Bernardo Silva.

It's the same crime Declan Rice received a one-game suspension after their 1-1 draw with Brighton.

Manchester City eventually got an equaliser in the eighth minute of added time through John Stones, and Arteta appeared to suggest he was not impressed with the referees for sending off another of his players.

“There were two very similar incidents,” the Spaniard said in his post-match interview. “In particular, one was very different with a different result that forces you to play a game that nobody wanted to see.”

Asked about Trossard's sacking, Arteta said: “You can ask me, but it's so obvious that I don't have to comment.”

But Keane does not believe Arteta did not need to vent his frustration on the referees.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the final whistle, he said: “Managers come out every week saying that every decision goes against them. You just have to accept it.”

“In the end, he would be happy with a point. Show some class, Arsenal manager. He probably deserved the red card, we reacted well and moved on.

“That’s it. Take your medicine and move on. Show some class.”

Arsenal fans on social media have pointed out a moment when Jeremy Doku kicked the ball in an attempt to highlight the unfair treatment their team receives.

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However, Doku appeared to move the ball into the position from which Arsenal were going to take their free-kick as he was originally too high up the pitch, which may be why he was not booked.

Of course, Arteta is not the only manager to have expressed his opinion on refereeing decisions in the Premier League.

But Keane believes not every incident needs fierce criticism and that managers need to do more to demonstrate this.

He continued: “Wouldn't it be nice if a manager came out after a game and just said 'yeah, you know what, it was a bit silly, it was a yellow card'?

“Every coach comes out every week and says, 'No, it wasn't a foul, it wasn't this, something happened five minutes earlier.'”

“Just go out there and be big enough… players do stupid things on a football pitch, go out there and show some class and say 'the referee gave him the chance to send him off'.

“We are disappointed but we are moving forward.”