Roy Keane has told Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to "smile more" after his spiky pre-match chat with ITV Sport before his side got down to business with Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Amid their ongoing battle for Premier League supremacy this term, City and the table-topping Gunners were pitted against each other in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It gave the title contenders a chance to lay a glove on each other before two top-flight meetings to come.
Guardiola named a strong team for the tie with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland among the big names included from the start. Arsenal, meanwhile, decided to rest one or two regulars.
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Despite their on-field rivalry, City and Arsenal competing for honours has seen the two managers - Guardiola and Mikel Arteta - exchange pleasantries during the build-up due to their personal and working relationship. It was far from friendly when Guardiola stepped in front of the ITV cameras pre-match, though.
Brushing away the final question from interviewer Gabriel Clarke, the Catalan was then discussed by the ITV panel, with United great Keane joined by Ian Wright and Mark Pougatch. Arsenal hero Wright was bemused by how Guardiola handled his interview, while Keane served up a trademark one-liner before the game began.
Wright said: "It (the interview) looked like hard work for him, didn't it? It's funny because I never hear anything out of those interviews... Pep always seems like someone who doesn't want to be doing them. It's really strange because I thought Gab [Gabriel Clarke] was on good form. He wasn't being nasty."
Keane added: "I think Pep should smile a bit more... and that's coming from me!" That comment drew laughter from Wright and Pougatch, while the popular Irishman also shared a wry smile to the cameras.
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