Jamie Carragher has suggested Arsenal will miss out on the Premier League title in the event that they proceed to play like they did of their Champions League quarter-final win over Sporting.
The Gunners took a 1-0 lead back to the Emirates Stadium for next week’s second leg due to Kai Havertz’s injury-time winner.
Arsenal had lost back-to-back games before their trip to Lisbon, suffering a Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City before a shock FA Cup loss to Southampton.
It looked as if Mikel Arteta’s side would need to accept a draw against Sporting but substitute Havertz got here off the bench to attain a late winner.
Carragher said beating Sporting was a ‘big result’ for Arsenal given their recent wobble but was removed from blown away by the Premier League leader’s performance.
The Liverpool legend and ex-England defender even suggested Arsenal would once more fall short within the Premier League title race in the event that they replicated that performance for the remaining of the season.
Arsenal boast a nine-point lead over Manchester City at the highest of the table ahead of Saturday’s home match against Bournemouth.
‘It was a giant result for Arsenal however it wasn’t an excellent performance,’ Carragher said on CBS Sports.
‘They won and that was the big thing after losing two games however it wasn’t an excellent performance. It wasn’t like they played implausible but they won the sport.
‘But do you think that in the event that they play like that for the remaining of the season they are going to win the title? We’ll see.’
Carragher, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, added: ‘It can be tough for Sporting to get back into the tie now.
‘Regardless that Arsenal didn’t play well it never really felt that they were in peril or being threatened. I didn’t feel like Sporting could hurt them an excessive amount of.
‘It almost felt like a bunch game as a substitute of a quarter-final, it was a totally different level of pace and probably quality in comparison with the Real Madrid-Bayern Munich game.
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‘Arsenal had them at arm’s length and were never going to take many risks away from home.’
Arsenal matchwinner Havertz, meanwhile, was delighted to contributed to a ‘much-needed’ win following two disappointing defeats within the domestic cup competitions.
‘I believe we wanted that as we were all frustrated with how the last couple of weeks went,’ Havertz said.
‘But it surely’s time to maneuver forward, it’s time to be positive, and it’s time to all stick together as a bunch – as players, staff, fans, we’re all on this together and we still could make something occur this 12 months.
‘It could be something very special, that’s what we’re going to go for, and now it’s time to win games.’
Arsenal’s Premier League title rivals Manchester City dropped vital points against Nottingham Forest and West Ham before the international break.
But Pep Guardiola’s side looked in ominous form as they beat Arsenal within the Carabao Cup final before thrashing Liverpool 4-0 within the FA Cup.
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