Jamie Carragher believes a \u2018little tactical shift\u2019 has breathed latest life into Arsenal after they took control of the Premier League title race and reached the Champions League final.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta\u2019s side were the very best team in Europe in the course of the first-half of the season but have been stumbling towards the finish line in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Arsenal fell short in each domestic cup competitions after which suffered what on the time felt like a costly defeat to title rivals Manchester City.<\/p>\n
However the Gunners have responded brilliantly to that setback, winning back-to-back Premier League games and overcoming Atletico Madrid to succeed in the Champions League final.<\/p>\n
While Arsenal looked back on the right track, Man City slipped up within the title race on Monday night as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Everton, leaving Pep Guardiola\u2019s team five points behind the league leaders.<\/p>\n
Recent results mean Arsenal are heading in the right direction to lift the Premier League trophy for the primary time since 2004 and are one game away from their maiden Champions League trophy.<\/p>\n
Carragher, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, says Arteta\u2019s side were \u2018definitely wobbling\u2019 but have improved since \u2018incredible\u2019 Declan Rice adopted a deeper role.<\/p>\n \u2018I assumed Declan Rice was incredible and the very best player\u00a0in\u00a0each legs,\u2019 Carragher said on CBS Sports<\/a> after Arsenal knocked out Diego Simeone\u2019s Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n \u2018Regardless that Arsenal\u00a0find\u00a0themselves where they’re within the Champions League and the Premier League due to what they\u2019ve done over nine or ten months, they were definitely wobbling.<\/p>\n \u2018Within the last week\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0sorted themselves\u00a0out\u00a0and I feel the choice to maneuver Declan Rice just a little bit deeper has had an enormous influence.<\/p>\n \u2018I assumed he was\u00a0really good\u00a0out in Madrid\u00a0and\u00a0got the Man of the Match award\u00a0within the second leg as well. In-between that Arsenal beat\u00a0Fulham\u00a0and it was the primary time\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0really seen them have a look at ease and play free.<\/p>\n \u2018It had\u00a0probably been\u00a0a couple of months since\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0seen that, perhaps since they beat Tottenham 4-1 within the north London derby.<\/p>\n \u2018I feel that little tactical shift with Declan Rice has had an enormous\u00a0impact\u00a0they usually at the moment are two games away from winning the Premier League and Champions League double.<\/p>\n \u2018They’ve the Champions League final, obviously, but in the event that they\u00a0beat\u00a0West\u00a0Ham on the\u00a0weekend\u00a0they’ll win the Premier League, it could be throughout.<\/p>\n \u2018So\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0how close they\u00a0are\u00a0but\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0still got to get across the road and\u00a0get there \u2013 nevertheless it does look a special team than we saw even just a few weeks ago.\u2019<\/p>\n Bukayo Saka\u2019s first-half goal settled Arsenal\u2019s Champions League semi-final against Atletico after a 1-1 attract Madrid in the primary leg.<\/p>\n The Gunners will face French champions PSG or German champions Bayern Munich within the Champions League final on May 30. <\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the most recent news on ![\"Arsenal](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2274805137.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594\")
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