Premier League 24/25 - Roy Keane, Paul Merson & Jamie Redknapp REACT to Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal.

Of course they need to keep pushing, but as we reiterated, 85 points is their maximum now, which leaves Liverpool needing a maximum 16. Is it all over? Yeah. You answered the question a couple of weeks ago when they were still in a closer of a shout. Yeah, I mean, fifth in the league and nearer to Arsenal than what Arsenal are to first. I mean, in my opinion, I'd be saying now we've got to concentrate and make sure we get in the top four. I mean, they're too far away. Liverpool have got to lose virtually half of their football matches. They've lost one all season. It's not going to happen. The league's over. It's finished. When the players speak after a game, they say, we just didn't have any cotton edge. You've got to have cotton edge. Cotton edge is very, very important. It's like as if to say, well, once we get that back. But if you've lost that cotton edge and you're not scoring goals, or you don't look like you're going to score goals, don't forget about closing any gap on Liverpool. I agree. I think you should be more worried about teams coming up behind you. Because cotton edge at this level, we've seen it. The amount of times they had possession in United's final third, we never thought they were certainly going to score two or three goals. And that's a big, that's a big part of it. Why does it go from having cutting edge one game, which they did midweek? Well, to Declan's point, they haven't lost at home for two and a half years. They've beaten Liverpool, all right, a weakened Liverpool, but Juventus as well. Yeah, but that just shows you, I think the level of this league is really, it's relentless. And don't get me wrong, I think what Manchester United did, they sat deep, made it really difficult for them. But when I think about Arsenal at their best, I think about real pace on the counter attack. And any time there's any space, when you've got Bukayo Saka, you know, when you play with Trossard in Pere Mourinho, you haven't got that pace that's really going to, you're not really going to worry about it. When Arie on the right gives you something, but in that respect, that means you can always go out and double up against him. And they haven't. He summed it up perfectly. It's a perfect analysis. It was, we haven't got that cutting edge with the players they've got right now. And they're not playing at that level, and they're not threatening teams. They're playing lovely football, intricate passes. But unless they're going to score from something outside the box, the set pieces have dried up. So nothing really is going to go in Arsenal's way. And I agree, they've got to be careful what's going behind them. I've seen they scored seven during the week, but they didn't have any swagger about them today. They did make nice bits of possession. But if anything, at the end, you're thinking United are probably going to win it. And United have been dreadful all season. They've produced in three or four games, United. But you felt sitting there. So I'd be looking at Arsenal's mentality and their swagger, going, where was it? You've come to United. You must smell that United are here for the taking. United were sitting in and hoped, obviously, on the counter-attack. But Arsenal didn't show that. They went streetwise, and at the end, they were really open. And United probably should have won the game. But how do you explain that? That sounds like it's a mentality issue. Well, it might be. It might be. We're praising Arsenal for years, saying they've done well and they've made progress. But the next step is always the hardest one. So this idea of the last few years going, oh, they've made real progress. They've finished second, second. If you're a clever Arsenal member, what could a second to you? If you're talking about winning league titles. Don't compare it to United, but where they are. But the next step, getting over the line, is the hardest one. But I've not seen an Arsenal team here where they turned up today and you went, I'll tell you what, they were machine-like. They put United. They knew United were there for the taking. They weren't even ready to take that step. So forget Liverpool. Be more worried about the teams coming up behind you. I wasn't happy with their mindset. Even Declan Durant was going, well, yeah, we got a bit stretched. We were playing patterns of play. And United probably should have won it at the end against a really poor United team. A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about Arsenal, I suppose, with some positivity in terms of the title race. And Liverpool potentially might have come unstuck with a difficult run of fixtures, certainly through February. But when it came to the crunch, Paul, this is when Arsenal, having beaten Manchester City so impressively, have dropped off, losing at home to West Ham United, failing to get through Nottingham Forest, and then dropping more points here today. As we said, they've dropped seven points in the last three games. How do you explain that? Well, Declan Rice said they've got no cutting edge. You know, Mourinho had to come on in the last 10 minutes against Leicester and score two goals. And they were two good goals, don't get me wrong. It never really looked like winning the game before that. It's such an art playing up front. Everybody wants a centre forward, I get that. But to go and say to a midfield player, you're going to go and play up front is... So ultimately injuries, you're saying? Oh, injuries, yeah. Injuries hasn't helped. It hasn't helped, yeah. It hasn't helped. You don't think Liverpool would have only lost one game this season if Van Dijk was out for three months. No, they would not. They'd have lost more games. Yeah, but is that the part of the challenge for any big club? You have to deal with separation. Everybody knew that they needed a striker. Yeah, I mean, we had this with Arsene Wenger. Everybody knew that Arsene Wenger needed a centre-half, but he'd never ever go out and get a centre-half. And it's the same now. You know, you put in a £60 million bid for Watkins or Mentor or whoever in January. Well, go £65 million. It's £5 million. It's a cup of tea for Arsenal. Do you know what I mean? Go £65 million. And if it takes 70, do 70. You know, but it's like, we'll get by and I just... I know Arteta's a midfield player and was a very good midfield player. But I played up front my career. It's a hard position to play. It's a hard position. And when you're playing in a game like this where they... I don't like saying a low block when they play 10 behind the ball. You need... That's when you need that guy or the centre-forward who's going to just pull off a centre-half and might get in the box at a near post, like Hoyland did at the end there. He was unlucky. It was a great block. Beat that little bit of goal. They'd never had that. Mourinho, I can't really remember him touching the ball in the game. I'm sitting here now thinking, what did he do? And it's not his fault. Don't get me wrong. But then you've got Wanieri out on the right. He's 17. He's a kid. So he's going to be up and down. He's just played in a European game. You know, the last 16 of a Champions League game. Then he's here. You know, Trossard was bought, really, to be honest, to be an understudy to Saka and Trossard, to Saka and Martinelli. He's playing every week. So you think of that front three. Does that front three get in Fulham's team? No. And where are Fulham? If you're Liverpool... Does that front three get in front of Man United's front three when Hoyland's playing and people like that? Liverpool will be looking at that today. They won't be thinking, oh, this team are going to hunt. They're going to try. They're going to put us under pressure. Liverpool will be looking at it going, I think Arsenal have almost given up the title chase. Do we have that mentality yet? Did it feel like that to you? It felt like that. I'm thinking, come on, Arsenal. Where is this? All that issue with Straker, of course. Listen, everyone's looking for that strike and get you 20 or 30 goals. But I still thought there'd be that mentality going, we still get the job done. We still find a way to win. And if anything, it was the opposite. You had a Man United team here who must be low on confidence, struggling. We talked about protests before the game. Strikers not in form. But they found a way. And if anything, at the end, you're sitting there going, I think United are probably going to win this. And they probably should have won it at the end. I think that is the difference. When you think about what Liverpool got when they got Salah, Diaz, Nunes, Jota. Players that are going to come off the bench or if they're starting, they're going to affect the game. So obviously it adds goals. And if you haven't got that, Gakpo has been fantastic this season. They've got so many different players that can give you that goal threat. And I look at Arsenal and I think right now, who's going to get that goal? And it ends up coming from, he was playing defensively in the field at the time when he scored his goal. So that's what they're lacking. And it's been apparent and every single Arsenal fan knows it. So if you're going to make that kind of mistake, you don't make it as obvious what they are.