Roy Keane believes would have been comfortable selling two stalwarts to because the Gunners still don’t represent a threat despite their impressive summer recruitment drive.
The Gunners ran out of steam last season and surrendered fourth place to Tottenham, forfeiting the opportunity to return to the after a five year absence.
Arsenal have responded to that setback by investing heavily in their squad over the course of the summer with five new signings bolstering a team brimming with potential.
Gabriel Jesus, the most expensive of Arsenal’s new quintet, has hit the ground running in pre-season, scoring six goals in five appearances including a hat-trick in Saturday’s 6-0 win over Sevilla.
The Brazilian’s former City teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko has also slotted in seamlessly at left-back and looks certain to start in place of Kieran Tierney, at least until the ex-Celtic star recovers from injury.
Keane, however, believes Arsenal remain some way from challenging the elite clubs in England with City and Liverpool still streets ahead of the chasing pack.
The former Manchester United captain told ITV: ‘I wouldn’t doubt Pep’s opinion on players. He works with them closely, you’ve got to keep moving on, you’ve got to freshen things up.
‘They’ve got good money for these players, who have been brilliant players for Manchester City. Jesus has really done well the last dew months, Sterling’s stats are fantastic, but with Haaland coming in, Pep’s probably thinking he wants to keep a hungry squad, that’s the name of the game.
‘He probably, at this moment in time with the money that came in, doesn’t see these clubs – certainly Arsenal – as a threat.
‘The big worry at the moment is trying to keep ahead of Liverpool .Liverpool and Manchester City are so far ahead of the other teams, he thought it’s worth a gamble.’
Keane’s fellow pundit Ian Wright largely agreed and believes the addition of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund left Guardiola with a relatively straightforward decision where Jesus was concerned.
‘Man City are able to pass those players on, whether it’s to Chelsea, a direct competitor, or Arsenal trying to be a direct competitor because they’re not worried about people or what they can do,’ said Wright.
‘They’re not worried about Jesus or Sterling going, good luck to them. They’re looking at what they’re doing. What they’ve done with a striker is an upgrade massively.’
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