Prior to facing Manchester United during last weekend’s blockbuster Premier League encounter at Old Trafford, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were unbeaten in their first four Premier League games of the new 2022-23 season.
Despite coming into Sunday’s mammoth tie as red hot favourites, Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils were able to get the better of their long-time rivals by effectively counter-attacking.
Goals from debutant Antony and a brace from Marcus Rashford ensured the 20-time league winners would take all three points after winning 3-1.
However, irrespective of the crushing defeat, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that the Gunners are still the closest side to champions Manchester City.
“I’ve been really impressed with them [Arsenal], I just don’t know if they have got the squad,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Overlap Fan Debate.
“When I actually watch Tottenham or Manchester United this season – they are getting the results the same sort of way. Big, strong, powerful, tough to beat.
“But when I watch Arsenal, it’s fast, energetic and I’m excited watching them. But could what happened yesterday happen too often?
“But the more impressive team, when we talk about how the game is played like right now, as a technical game, and what Liverpool and Man City have done over the last four or five years, Arsenal are closer to that than say Tottenham or United.”
The Gunners’ next five fixtures will either prove Carragher right or perfectly demonstrate exactly why he was right to have the concerns he has.
Scheduled to compete in the Europa League twice in their next five games, Arteta must find a way for his relatively modest squad to compete on multiple fronts.
Upcoming fixtures include an away tie against FC Zurich, a domestic home tie against Frank Lampard’s struggling Everton, and another home game against PSV back in the Europa League before the Londoners travel to take on cross-town rivals Brentford. The Gunners’ fifth game, which is scheduled for the start of next month, will be the first North London Derby of the season.