Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has delivered a fresh take on Arsenal and their chances of winning the Premier League this season.
The Gunners, since tasting defeat away to Liverpool in August, have won 13 games on the trot in all competitions whilst boasting the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues.
Mikel Arteta’s imperious side also haven’t conceded a single goal in all competitions since their dramatic 2-1 win over Newcastle at St. James’ Park in September, which is quite incredible considering they were without star defender William Saliba for brief periods as well.
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-1 Man City
Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal
Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid
Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton
Burnley 0-2 Arsenal
Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal
Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera has performed exceptionally when called upon by Arsenal to replace Saliba at the heart of Arteta’s defence, and their exceptional resilience as a unit could well hand them a first Premier League title in 22 years.
Arsenal were already a very hard side to break down prior to this campaign, leaking the fewest goals of any top flight club in both the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons, but the arrival of assistant coach Gabriel Heinze appears to have solidified them even more.
Their rock solid backline has allowed Arsenal to plough through and get results despite their plethora of attacking absentees, with Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and now Viktor Gyokeres all sidelined through injury.
This, combined with their overwhelming threat from set pieces, has made Arsenal the team to beat as we head into the festive period.
Carragher names the player who could hold Arsenal back from Premier League title glory
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher has claimed that only one man could stop Arsenal from winning the title at this point.
The pundit claims that Man City superstar Erling Haaland, who has spearheaded the Sky Blues to second almost single-handedly with 13 goals in just 10 Premier League appearances, will have a major say on whether Arsenal can end their two-decade-long wait for a domestic crown.
Given Haaland is basically a cheat code at this point, it’s hard to argue with Carragher’s assessment here.
It is still a real wonder how the Norway superstar didn’t clinch 2023’s Ballon d’Or award after firing City to a treble with 52 goals in 53 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side, with Lionel Messi getting it instead following his 2022 World Cup win.
The 25-year-old is nailed on for a Ballon d’Or eventually and perhaps even Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League goalscoring record if he stays in England much longer.
Make no mistake, it would take something truly extraordinary to topple Arsenal right now, and Haaland is just that.