Erling Haaland’s all-around play is criticized by Roy Keane, who compares him to a League Two player.

After Manchester City and Arsenal drew goalless, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane delivered a brutal critique on Erling Haaland’s general footballing skills. Though Haaland has scored an incredible 18 goals this season to lead the Premier League in goals scored, Keane was not impressed with the player’s overall performance.

Keane’s assessment, which broadcast on Easter Sunday on Sky Sports, emphasized Haaland’s shortcomings in his overall play and disparagingly compared it to that of a fourth-tier player. Keane said, “The level of his general play is so poor.” Not only today, getting rid of headers or anything else. He is the world’s finest player when he is in front of goal, but his overall performance is rather subpar for a player of his caliber. He resembles a player from League Two virtually. His overall performance needs work, but it will become better in the next years. He’s a terrific striker, but he still has to work on his whole game.”

Keane was critical of Haaland’s play throughout the game, pointing out in particular a chance that was lost in the closing moments of the contest. Six minutes remained, and Haaland found himself unmarked at the back post following a corner, but his attempt to connect with the ball was off, costing Manchester City an opportunity. Micah Richards, another member of the Sky Sports panel, reinforced Keane’s observations by highlighting Haaland’s difficulties with hold-up and build-up play.

Manchester City was unable to catch up to league leaders Liverpool after the draw against Arsenal; the Reds currently lead Arsenal by two points. City, who trail Arsenal by one more point, has performed poorly this season against top-five opponents, casting doubt on their capacity to hold onto their position as the clear favorites to win the championship.

Keane was as blunt about City’s performance, speculating that the team’s past several years’ worth of injuries and stress may be now getting to them. “It’s shocking how poorly City has performed against the top five clubs. The feat of winning four leagues in a row has never been achieved before. There’s a good explanation for that—there is a strong desire to perform it every week. They just have an odd appearance. All the wounds and strains from the previous several years. While I don’t want to come out as dismissing City, it appears like they have caught up to them in the major games this season.”

All eyes will be on Haaland and Manchester City as the Premier League season goes on to see whether they can respond to the accusations thrown at them and continue to pursue the championship. To silence skeptics like Keane and establish himself as one of the best players in the world, Haaland will need to enhance his all-around game in addition to his goal-scoring ability.