Former Premier League Star Roy Keane Claims Arsenal Have Fallen Behind Their Nearest Rivals

Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, always enjoyed a battle with Arsenal during his playing days at Old Trafford. Now it seems his combative and controversial attitude towards the Gunners has not lost any of its intensity as highlighted through his recent comments on ITV on Wednesday night.

When asked about Arsenal's plight this season Keane believes that for all the club's wealth,  Arsenal are struggling to keep up with their Premier League rivals.

Discussing footballing topics on the TV station's Champions League Review programme and reported, via the Daily Star, the former Republic of Ireland captain said: "I think most teams in the Premier League are ahead of Arsenal."

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This followed on from assessing their north London rival's efforts at the Santiago Bernabeu in their Group H encounter with current Champions League holders Real Madrid which finished in an entertaining 1-1 draw. 

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The Irishman was very complimentary about the progress Spurs have made under the coaching and guidance of Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino since his appointment in May 2014. 

He added: "Spurs now are rock solid, a really good team. They went to Real Madrid, they were very brave and showed a lot of courage.

"Their manager and players deserve great credit because this is a top Tottenham team now. They can be a threat in the Champions League, getting into the knock out stages and getting to a quarter-final maybe."

Fellow pundit and Arsenal defender Lee Dixon reluctantly agreed with his colleague accepting that the Lilywhites have now superseded Arsenal in most footballing facets. In a relatively short period of time, the shift in power has visibly changed hands in north London. 

However Keane acknowledges, that if the current approach doesn't change and quickly at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal playing in the Europa League will become a permanent fixture.