In the minutes before Sunday’s big game between Arsenal and Manchester United, the TV cameras caught a friendly session in the players’ tunnel at the Emirates. There stood Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard, who eventually exchanged a hug and a few words with both Casemiro and Sergio Reguilón from Manchester United, two players he knows from his time at Real Madrid. The two team’s goalkeepers, Aaron Ramsdale and Andre Onana, were also filmed chatting in the minutes before the game. – Can’t understand The friendship makes Roy Keane, known for his uncompromising style both as a footballer and TV pundit, to linger. – I see the pictures from the players’ tunnel, and everyone probably thinks I’m “old school” now, but I can’t understand why you should talk to people you’re going out to fight against. You will soon kick the crap out of each other, he says, according to the Manchester Evening News. Keane is also surprised that they shook hands before kick-off. – I never did it before the match, but afterwards. “Maybe these young pundits next to me have to bring me up,” he added, referring to TV colleagues Micah Richards and Theo Walcott. – I would never have done it, replied Walcott. SCORING: Ødegaard cheered after Arsenal’s equaliser. Photo: DAVID KLEIN / Reuters – Do I live well with news, national team manager Ståle Solbakken asked about the statements at Monday’s press conference. – I think Roy Keane is a funny expert. I like listening to him myself, but that’s exactly what I take very calmly, says Solbakken. – If it’s the criticism Martin (Ødegaard) gets this year, that he greets someone before the game, then I’m fine with that, he continues. – But is Keane up to something? – Not if you watched the match, because it was close from the first minute there. So the players are obviously able to distinguish between it. – Pipes from an old man news expert Carl-Erik Torp has little to spare for Keane’s statements and attitude. – I think it’s an old man’s pipe. It reeks of an “everything was better before” mentality. These are modern footballers who have relationships and know each other, that they should hate each other and fight in the city like in the old days, I don’t believe that, says Torp. Torp doesn’t think Keane is close to hitting the mark when he suggests that camaraderie before a match can contribute to the players losing focus and ignition when the match starts. – I don’t think it matters. It’s nostalgia, does he want games with 10 yellow cards and bad play? These matches are extremely important, there is both a lot of prestige and a lot of sporting significance, but the hate aspect … I don’t think it affects the performance of the players, says Torp. DISAGREE: news expert Carl-Erik Torp. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news And states: – The fact that you shouldn’t greet each other, but stand and fire up before a match, and then slap each other down in the first minute and almost make each other invalid, that’s not football I want back to. The news expert has himself played football at the top level and emphasizes that there is no conclusion. – It’s about finding your own ignition level, and everyone is different there, says Torp. Ødegaard: – This we play for Martin Ødegaard did not look very marked by the friendliness before the match. He scored one goal and delivered a good game in Arsenal’s 3-1 win against United. The Norwegian has not yet commented on Keane’s statements, but said the following to Viaplay after the 3-1 victory in London on Sunday: – It is the best feeling in the world. This is what we play for. It was absolutely crazy, said Ødegaard, who is now traveling to Norway for the national team meeting.
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