After having almost consigned Arsenal to their consecutive defeat when the Gunners got away with a last-gasp draw at the weekend, Sunderland boss Roy Keane believes Arsene Wenger’s side are not good enough to win the Premiership title this season.

The north-London club had suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Hull City last weekend before only managing a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light on Saturday when Cesc Fabregas scored the injury-time equaliser against Keane’s men.

The former Manchester United captain, however, feels that the Gunners can mount a challenge as they are a good team, but devoid of strong characters necessary to propel a side to glory.

“Of course they can challenge,” said Keane. “If Arsenal can't challenge what hope have we got? There are four teams we know which will finish in the top four. But will Arsenal finish first? I don't think so. I think Chelsea and United are stronger - that's my opinion.

“Every team has its different characters and different dynamics,” he added. “Arsenal are still a good team but different to the one I played against. There were different characters back then.

“These days there is no [Martin] Keown, [Tony] Adams or [Patrick] Vieira. You need certain characters in your team.”