Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal’s lack of “special players” will hurt their chances in the UEFA Champions League. He said that they will win the Premier League, but criticized their attacking players.
The Gunners sit atop the Premier League table, nine points above Manchester City, who have a game in hand. In the UEFA Champions League, they have reached the quarter-finals, where they will face Sporting CP over two legs. They also lost in the EFL Cup final against Manchester City.
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Sharing his thoughts on the north London side’s squad, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said on Stick To Football:
“I don’t think it will affect the league because Arsenal have got such a big gap. But my thing with Arsenal now – and you could probably say this with every team in the Premier League – is there’s not enough special players.”
“Arsenal are the best team in the league and have an amazing record but I still look at the attack and think it’s only okay. There’s no star player and sometimes you need that player when you’re not playing well like they wasn’t in the cup final,” he added.
Comparing Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard to Manchester City legend Kevin de Bruyne and Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah, Carragher said:
“I don’t think Arsenal have enough special players in attack and that would worry me a bit for the Champions League. I thought two years ago that (Bukayo) Saka and (Martin) Odegaard were going to be the real deal and be like (Mohamed) Salah and (Kevin) De Bruyne. They were nearly there.”
“Arsenal are probably going to win the league but if they do I don’t think any of the attacking players will think they’ve had an amazing season. It’s just not clicked,” he added.
The Gunners’ top scorer in the Premier League this season is Viktor Gyokeres with 11 goals. However, he is sixth in the league standings, 11 goals behind leader Erling Haaland.
Manchester United legend claims Arsenal star is “lost” due to their playing style
Mikel Arteta has faced plenty of criticism for his playing style and dependence on set pieces this season. Manchester United legend Paul Scholes recently slammed the Gunners’ performance in the EFL Cup final against Manchester City. He compared them to Stoke City and claimed that they have become “obsessed with it”.
Scholes also claimed that this has led to Bukayo Saka’s impact getting depleted, adding:
“They’ve got good players. You’ve got Saka who looks lost at the minute because they can’t get the ball to him, more than anything, he’s got great ability.”
Saka has scored nine goals and provided seven assists in 42 games across competitions for the Gunners this season. Meanwhile, the north London side will next face Southampton away in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4.
Edited by Aditya Singh
