Roy Keane fires warning to Mikel Arteta as Arsenal battle Man Utd and Spurs for top-four

Roy Keane has warned Mikel Arteta that Arsenal’s progress this season will mean little if Tottenham or Manchester United beat the Gunners to a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Arteta’s side have recovered from a dismal start to the campaign to emerge as the favourites to finish fourth behind title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool and third-placed Chelsea.

Arsenal sit three points above Tottenham and United and have a game in hand over both of their top-four rivals ahead of their first match back following the international break, a trip to south London to face Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace on Monday night.

Former Manchester United captain Keane has been impressed by Arsenal’s development this season but says their campaign will still be viewed as a ‘disappointment’ if they drop out of the Champions League places.

‘The next month is going to be vital for Arsenal,’ Keane said on Sky Bet’s Overlap show.

‘The criticism early in the season, they probably didn’t deserve that, but if they finish fifth or sixth, there will still probably be disappointment for Arsenal.

‘That’s the reality. This is the big test for the team over the next two months. For all the plaudits for the last few months, this is crunch time now.

‘Come the end of the season, that’s when you really judge teams. If Arsenal finish sixth, I don’t think Arsenal fans will still be saying, “it’s a great project, we are all behind it”.

‘There will be an element of another disappointment if that happens. The next two months are huge.’

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville, meanwhile, has warned Arsenal that Arteta could decide to leave at the end of the season.

He said at the same event: ‘I really like Arteta, I think he’s a brilliant