Ex-United winger and Arsenal fan Kieran Richardson admits Saka worry and lifts lid on playing under Roy Keane

In the final part of a Ladbrokes Fanzone interview, former Manchester United winger and Arsenal fan Kieran Richardson spoke about Bukayo Saka and playing under Roy Keane at Sunderland.

Click on the links for his thoughts on Jadon Sancho, United’s failure to sign Harry Kane and his spell at West Brom.

I’m surprised Man City haven’t come in for Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka is just an exceptional talent. I don’t really need to go into too much depth because everyone knows just how good he is. I’m happy that he’s still at Arsenal, but I’m surprised Man City still haven’t come in for him yet, if I’m being honest.

He’s one of the best players in the Premier League. He’s such an important part of this whole Arsenal set-up, he’s a massive talent and he’s got a great family behind him. I’ve spoken with his dad a few times in the past and he’s just a very well-grounded young man. The world is his oyster. He does his thing on the pitch, but he does so much off it, too. For him, it’s just about staying injury-free. When you’re at that type of level, injuries can change your whole career. You’ve seen it in the past with some great players, so I’m praying that doesn’t happen with Bukayo Saka at Arsenal.

I do feel like if he does leave the club, he’ll go to City. It seems like a perfect fit for him. Even though I don’t want him to go, when you think about it, they’ve obviously lost a couple of players in the summer, Riyad Mahrez being one. It seems a perfect fit for Saka, if he wants it.

Look, I’m hoping that he never has to go there, and that Arsenal win the Premier League and so he’s got no need or reason to go there. But, a player like that, he has to be winning things. You see the likes of Harry Kane at Spurs. He left because he wanted to actually win something, even if it’s in Germany. I just feel like if we don’t win the trophy in the next three years, then Saka is definitely going to be looking to move. Why shouldn’t he? He’s the kind of player that needs to be finishing his career with at least three or four Premier League titles to his name. I just hope he does that with us!

Roy Keane still young enough to be a great manager

Playing for Roy, having played with him at Man United, wasn’t weird for me. He just felt like my captain again, really. As you see every week on TV with Roy, he just talks about standards. With Roy, he was a great captain and, for me, he was a great manager. Some players just can’t handle the way he is. But he doesn’t ask you for much. He just wants you to get the basics right. Run more than anyone else and graft, and the rest takes care of itself. That’s all he ever asked of us as players.

I loved playing for Roy, and I loved him as a captain. You will not get any better than him as a captain, any player, at any club in the world. No one comes close to Roy. He required the highest levels from his team-mates. He wanted the best of the best, from the best. And that was what he got out of his team-mates at Man United.

He was very similar as a captain and as a manager. I loved it, because I’m one of those players who likes to be told. Some players don’t like it – some go the other way.

I feel like Roy would be a great manager in today’s game. I do really feel like there’s a club out there for him. He’s still young, everyone knows his personality. Why can’t he go and manage somewhere? That’s a question for him, not me. I just don’t see why he can’t still have a successful career in management in the next few years.

I’ve got no chance of buying Arsenal season tickets!

Honestly, I can’t look past Man City, ever. Their style of play, the manager that they have. I just keep saying they’re going to win the league again. I would love Arsenal to win the league, but look at what happened last season. We choked. But I think they’ve learned from it. They’ve got a young team, and if they’re in a similar position to what they were last season, this time around, then I think they go on to win the title. You learn from mistakes, you pick up experience, you add strength in depth and you bring in great names like Declan Rice who has come in and brought so much stability in that area. He’s got a great head on his shoulders.

But you just can’t look past Man City, can you? I know Arsenal beat them a couple of weeks ago, but they’ve got a lot of players out at the moment, notably Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, but when they’re back, that team is more than capable of turning it on like a tap, and running away with it again.

The funny thing is, I actually tried to get four season tickets for Arsenal this year. There’s a suite at the Emirates called the Avenell Suite, and I put down a deposit for four tickets, because I wanted to take my family. And before the season started, they told me they could only get me two. That just wasn’t going to work for me, because I wanted to come as a family. I didn’t want to bring just one of my kids, so I’ve not done it this season. All of the fans have obviously renewed their memberships as well, because of the Champions League football. It’s entertaining stuff, so it makes perfect sense that fans would want to go week in, week out. So, no, I didn’t get the tickets this season, but maybe four will become available for me next year!