Jamie Carragher has issued a warning to Mikel Arteta claiming that Arsenal are in danger of emulating Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, who – despite coming close – failed to win a major trophy during his five years at Spurs.
Writing in his column in The Telegraph, the former Liverpool defender added that the Gunners seemed to be running out of energy this season and delivered his verdict on what Arsenal must do this summer to take the next step.
It’s been a difficult week for the north London club, who suffered a huge setback in the title race on Sunday after they were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium. On Wednesday, Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League, after being beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.
The Gunners, seem to have built on the progress they made in the 2022-23 campaign, with the acquisition of Declan Rice perhaps being one of the signings of the season. But having been usurped at the top of the Premier League standings by Manchester City this week, questions are being raised as to what Arsenal must do to claim silverware under Arteta.
‘Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are in danger of becoming Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs; a side to be admired for nearly being great,’ Carragher wrote.
Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal are in danger of emulating Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham
Carragher issued a warning to Mikel Arteta and pinpointed what they need to do to strengthen
Pochettino failed to win silverware during his five-year spell as Tottenham Manager
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He added: ‘It is damning with faint praise to say Arteta, just like Pochettino during his spell at Spurs, deserves more respect and credit for making Arsenal challengers than criticism in the event of falling short.
‘Recognition for doing such a good job will be no consolation if history judges Arteta’s reign without a Premier League or Champions League on his CV.’
Carragher believed that the Gunners are still in the title race, despite being two points behind City in second. This weekend they travel to Molineux to take on Wolves and the Sky Sports pundit believed that their season will be over if they suffer their third-straight defeat of the week to Gary O’Neil’s side.
Arteta took over at the club in 2019, notably winning the FA Cup in his first season in charge.
Since then, he has done a excellent job, catapulting the Gunners to the top of the English Premier League and came agonisingly close to winning his side’s first league title in nearly 20 years.
Pochettino, meanwhile, was appointed Tottenham boss in 2014 and subsequently went on to guide them to finish runners up during the 2016–17 season. In 2019, they reached the final of the Champions League where they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool. The Argentine left the club later that year, having failed to clinch a major title.
Arsenal’s title chase took a dent this weekend after they dropped points to Aston Villa
The ex-Liverpool defender admitted that Arsenal will be competing at the top level for a while
Carragher claimed that the reality of the situation is that Arsenal teams of the past who have not won a major honour will be forgotten against the illustrious teams who won the Premier League back in 2002 and the ‘Invincibles’ in 2004.
Noting the age of Arteta’s squad, he believed that the Gunners will be competing at the top of the Premier League for some time, but issued his verdict on how Arsenal can strengthen lauding the signing of Rice as a declaration of intent.
‘Arsenal now need a player of Rice’s calibre in attack. They are the top scorers in the top division, but have been goalless in five league games, and were unable to find a way through in the Allianz Arena in midweek,’ Carragher said.
‘A superstar striker could have found the goals in the two legs against Bayern, or collected the extra five or six points which would mean it is Arsenal, not Manchester City, in the ascendancy heading towards the final straight. In the eleven games in all competitions Arsenal have gone 1-0 down this season, they have lost eight.’
Carragher also questioned whether Arsenal have enough funds available to make such a purchase this summer, noting how the club strategically signed David Raya on loan – adding a clause into his deal that would allow the club to make his move permanent this summer.
‘My suspicion is they have been worried about the profit and sustainability rules in the last few transfer windows and took a calculated gamble in completing the Rice deal, seeing him as a possible game-changer,’ he added.
Despite that, Arteta claimed that it could be a little while until his side finally go on to win the Champions League after their defeat against Bayern Munich in midweek.
‘The players are gutted in the dressing room. I cannot find the right words to lift them, I wish I could. We have to go through it.
Carragher lauded Declan Rice’s signing as transformative but Arsenal needed a striker
Arteta has relied on Gabriel Jesus this season, with the Brazilian scoring eight goals so far
Kai Havertz has impressed at time sthis season in the attacking positions for Arsenal
‘We tried against a team that had a lot of experience, the margins across the tie have been very small. We made a mistake defending the box and we conceded a goal.
‘The club hasn’t been in the Champions League for seven years, and in the first year back [people expect us to] play in the semi-final and final.
‘We all wanted that, so badly, but you can see with many other clubs it takes six or seven years to get to this stage. We were very close, that’s the reality.’
Even after a difficult week, Arteta urged positivity, claiming that there was still plenty to play for this season.
‘What we still have to play for is beautiful. I said before it’s time to be next to these players. It’s easy to be behind them and praise the players and talk nice things when we win 10 in a row and one draw. The moment is now to be behind them and be next to them.’
