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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Joe Donnelly

Arsenal legend compares 'easy work' Celtic to English Premier League hopefuls

Celtic continue to receive plaudits far and wide for their gutsy 0-0 Champions League draw against Atalanta last night (Wednesday), with former player Martin Keown comparing them to his former club.

Speaking in reaction to the Hoops' exploits in Italy, the former defender spent 13 years at Arsenal over two spells, and likened Celtic's grit and determination to that of The Gunners' in Europe – suggesting Brendan Rodgers "100 per cent" changed his approach from their last outing in Dortmund.

"[Celtic] definitely sat much deeper," said Keown in the TNT studio. "It was very reminiscent of the way Arsenal played and hung on for large periods."

"Celtic, almost, made easy work of it. That does a lot for their confidence."


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After the match, Celtic captain Callum McGregor echoed a similar sentiment regarding variance in his side's approach to the challenge this time around.

He said: "When you take a heavy defeat you can speak your way through it, but then when you get onto the pitch you've still got that feat a little bit from what happened previously.

"But that was totally gone and the performance was much more like we are, and hopefully [Dortmund] was an off night."

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