Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has given his new perspective on Arsenal and their chances of winning the Premier League this season.
Since losing away to Liverpool in August, the Gunners have won 13 games in all competitions and have the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues.
Mikel Arteta’s imposing side have not conceded a goal in all competitions since their dramatic 2-1 win over Newcastle at St James’s Park in September, which is quite incredible considering they were briefly without star defender William Saliba.
Arsenal remain unbeaten in all competitions since losing to Liverpool |
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Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest |
Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal |
Arsenal 1-1 Man City |
Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal |
Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal |
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos |
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham |
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal |
Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid |
Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace |
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton |
Burnley 0-2 Arsenal |
Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal |
Cristian Mosquera, who joined in the summer, has performed admirably since being asked by Arsenal to replace Saliba at the heart of Arteta’s defence, and his extraordinary resilience as a unit means there is a good chance that they will win their first Premier League title in 22 years.
Arsenal were already a very difficult team to break down before this season, having conceded the fewest goals of any top-flight club in both the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons, but they appear to have become even stronger with the arrival of assistant coach Gabriel Heinze.
“He’s a man and a coach and he wants us to fight hard,” Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya said recently of Heinze.
“To win games, you have to defend well, especially in this league. This is the toughest league in the world. To win games, you have to be very, very, very solid. Usually games are won by one point.
“So it’s really, really important to protect that asset from us and everyone. Not just the last line, just all the players. So it’s a credit to him as well.”
Despite Kai Havertz, Noni Maduke, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and now Victor Gokeres all missing due to injury, Arsenal’s rock-solid backline has allowed them to fight through and achieve results despite the many players missing in attack.
This, combined with their overwhelming threat from set-pieces, made Arsenal the team to beat heading into the festival period.
Carragher names players who could lead Arsenal away from Premier League title glory
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher insisted there is only one person who can stop Arsenal from winning the title at the moment.
Pundits claim Man City superstar Erling Haaland, who almost single-handedly guided the Sky Blues to second place with 13 goals in just 10 Premier League games, will have a huge influence on whether Arsenal can end their 20-year wait for the domestic crown.
“I think the biggest threat to Arsenal is not Manchester City but Erling Haaland,” Carragher said.
“It doesn’t feel like a one-man team, but I’d like to go back to what Pep Guardiola said when he called Tottenham, coached by Mauricio Pochettino, ‘Harry Kane’s team.’
“That wasn’t meant to be a compliment, that’s for sure, but it feels like Manchester City are Erling Haaland’s team at the moment.
“If something were to happen to him, if he was injured, I don’t think there’s any way for Manchester City to win the title for maybe four to six weeks. At the moment, it’s not Liverpool or Manchester City that scares Arsenal, it’s that Erling Haaland.”
It’s hard to argue with Carragher’s assessment here, considering Haaland is essentially a cheat code at the moment.
After leading City to the treble with Josep Guardiola’s side with 52 goals in 53 games, it’s a real wonder why the Norwegian superstar didn’t win the 2023 Ballon d’Or award, instead going to Lionel Messi following his 2022 World Cup win.
The 25-year-old is set to win the Ballon d’Or eventually, and could possibly reach Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record if he stays longer in England.
Don’t get me wrong, it takes something truly extraordinary to beat Arsenal right now, and Haaland is just that.