Roy Keane believes Pep Guardiola would have been comfortable selling two Manchester City loyal to Arsenal as the Gunners still pose no threat despite their impressive recruiting campaign over the summer.
The Gunners picked up steam last season and gave up fourth place to Tottenham, forfeiting their chance to return to the league. Champions League after five years of absence.
Arsenal have responded to that setback by investing heavily in their squad over the summer with five new signings that will bolster a team with great potential.
Gabriel Jesus, the most expensive of Arsenal’s new quintet, has got off to a flying start in preparation for the season, scoring six goals in five games, including a hat-trick in Saturday’s 6-0 win over Sevilla.
Brazil’s former City team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko has also come in seamlessly as left-back and looks set to start in Kieran Tierney’s place, at least until the ex-Celtic star recovers from injury.
However, Keane believes Arsenal are far from challenging England’s elite clubs, while City and Liverpool are still ahead of the chasers.
The former Manchester United captain told ITV: “I wouldn’t doubt Pep’s views on players. He works closely with them, you have to move on, you have to freshen things up.
“They have good money for these players, who have been brilliant players for Manchester City. Jesus has really done well in recent dew months, Sterling’s stats are fantastic, but with Haaland coming in, Pep probably thinks he wants to keep a hungry squad, that’s the name of the game.
“Probably at the moment with the money coming in, he doesn’t see these clubs – especially Arsenal – as a threat.
“The biggest concern at the moment is trying to stay ahead of Liverpool. Liverpool and Manchester City are so far ahead of the other teams that he thought it was worth a gamble.”
Keane’s fellow pundit Ian Wright largely agreed and believes the addition of Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland has given Guardiola a relatively easy decision as far as Jesus was concerned.
“Man City can pass those players on, whether it’s Chelsea, a direct competitor, or Arsenal trying to be a direct competitor, because they don’t care about people or what they can do,” Wright said.
“They’re not worried about Jesus or Sterling leaving, good luck to them. They watch what they do. What they’ve done with a striker is a huge upgrade.’
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