Jamie Carragher has claimed Arsenal are the ‘best team’ within the Premier League this season despite Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Liverpool.
The Gunners are top of the table after their opening 11 games this season as they give the impression of being to secure the title for the primary time in over 20 years.
Arsenal have finished as runners-up for the last three seasons in a row, missing out to each City and Liverpool across those campaigns.
Pep Guardiola’s side finished third last term, ending a run of 4 consecutive Premier League trophies.
This season, City are as much as second, 4 points behind Mikel Arteta’s men, but Carragher has ‘little question’ Arsenal are currently the superior team.
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‘I believe Arsenal might be nervous [in the title race] since it’s Man City and so they’ve done this to them twice before,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘Twice in last three years they’ve come from behind and caught Arsenal.
‘The way of the [City] victory today, that first-half performance as well… Liverpool are the champions but City took them to the cleaners.
‘I believe on the back of Arsenal dropping points against a promoted team, they might have been hoping for a draw [between City and Liverpool].
‘But they saw City not only win – but win well – and so they could be getting just a few flashbacks to the last couple of times that they had a probability at a title.
‘It could be an extended two weeks… I still think Arsenal are the most effective team I’ve seen within the Premier League this season, little question.
‘However it’s been so long since they won the title so everyone will turn into twitchy throughout the run-in.’
Metro @ The Match: Wirtz ghosts again
Evaluation from Metro‘s Head of Sport James Goldman after Man City’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool…
Be careful Arsenal
Any suggestion that Mikel Arteta’s previously relentless winning machine would sleepwalk their method to the title was all the time fanciful prior to this weekend. It’s pure folly now after a few familiar failings reared their head on the Stadium of Light on Sunday, before City laid down an emphatic marker against Liverpool. City have hunted down the Gunners from less promising positions previously and although the personnel could be different, Arsenal’s failure to go course and distance previously is more likely to haunt them until they finally recover from the road. Nothing about City’s recent form suggests they’re going to provide them a straightforward ride.
City’s wing wizards
While they’ve still got to go some to emulate a few of their illustrious predecessors, there’s definitely shades of Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling in regards to the current City widemen. Jeremy Doku gave Conor Bradley an infinitesimally more testing time than Vinicius Jnr in midweek and his electric dribbling style now, more continuously than not, culminates in end product. On the alternative flank, Rayan Cherki’s magnetic first touch and inventiveness neatly complimented the qualities of those around him before he was withdrawn early within the second period.
Nico shows why he’s been called up by England
England’s left-back position is definitely up for grabs given the variety of options Thomas Tuchel has experimented with over the course of his tenure. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s relative inactivity for Arsenal has handed a chance to Nico O’Reilly and it’s one the City teenager looks primed to take. Tasked with taming Mohamed Salah, the 20-year-old hardly gave Liverpool’s talisman an inch and his poise on the ball, a pre-requisite for any City player in Pep Guardiola’s system, helped his side navigate its way out of several tight spots and spring dangerous attacks.
Wirtz ghosts again
Doku’s improvement this season and man of the match display served as a timely remind that it continues to be way too soon to jot down off one among Liverpool’s two headline summer signings, but this was one other concerning performance. So infrequent was his involvement in the sport that it was difficult to find out the role he had been assigned. Either way, he looks sick relaxed with the playmaking responsibilities he has presumably been charged with, irrespective of which combination of midfielders and forwards Arne Slot selects. Lightweight, indecisive and short on confidence, Wirtz and his manager have major issues to unravel.
Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool are ‘not going to provide up’ on retaining the title and says they’re ‘ready’ for a ‘big fight’ with Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League trophy.
‘We will not be going to provide up by any means,’ Van Dijk said after the loss to City. ‘We’re in November and we’re ready for an extended season and a giant fight.’
Liverpool boss Arne Slot, though, has made a worrying claim about his team’s possibilities within the title race.
‘The final thing I should talk about is the title race,’ Slot said. ‘Now we have to give attention to getting results.’
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