Carragher: Arsenal are too intense in their title bid against Man City
Arsenal are ‘too intense’ in their bid to mount a title battle against Man City, claims Jamie Carragher – as he recalls Mikel Arteta ‘jumping around like a lunatic’ in the Community Shield earlier this season
- Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal have been ‘too intense’ in the league this term
- He recalled Mikel Arteta’s animated behaviour in August over a lack of booking
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Arsenal have acted ‘too intense’ this season while attempting to mount a title bid against Manchester City, claims Jamie Carragher – who says fans must be fearing the worst after dropping four points at home already.
The Gunners went toe-to-toe with City in last year’s title race as they led the Premier League table for 248 days before being overtaken by Pep Guardiola’s men, who eventually won the crown by five points.
This season they have started well with four wins from six but find themselves four points adrift of City already having drawn twice at home against Fulham and Tottenham.
Carragher feels Arsenal have upped the ante too much early on in the season – after noticing their intensity as early as the Community Shield, which they won against City on penalties in August and said they would soon get a reality check with such a large chunk of the season left to play.
Speaking to the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Carragher said: ‘I noticed in the Community Shield – and something stuck with me – and I said that I felt like I was watching Arsenal in the run in and it’s only the start of the season with the celebrations, or it feels like every game is going to the wire.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have been ‘too intense’ while chasing Man City for the title, claims pundit Jamie Carragher
The Liverpool icon recalled Arsenal overcelebrating winning the Community Shield in August
‘I remember [Mikel] Arteta on the touchline after about 20 minutes, he was like a lunatic to the referee because he hadn’t booked a City player. I know there’s a big rivalry, but I almost thought that it was too intense for the stage. You’ve got another 10 months of this!
‘With Arsenal, because of last season being in such a good position – and they’re not going to be in that position again in terms of winning around 50 points out of the first 57 or something mad – I think it’s that much of missing out last season, and they’re that intense now.’
He suggested that after they failed to beat Spurs at home – coupled with a 2-2 draw to Fulham at the Emirates – Arsenal supporters may be giving up hope already that they can catch a very talented City side after just six games.
‘I’ve been there with Liverpool. Arsenal fans will feel like they can’t win the league now because they’ve dropped points in two home games,’ he said. ‘That’s what [Manchester] City do to you, and we are probably looking at one of the best teams the Premier League has ever seen, maybe the best if they win it again.’
Gary Neville has suggested Arteta’s touch-line antics have not helped Arsenal gain composure
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It’s not the first time Arsenal and boss Arteta have been criticised over their intensity, with Carragher’s Sky Sports colleague Gary Neville saying the Spaniard’s animated antics on the sideline does not help his side.
Arteta’s antics came up for discussion after the North London Derby – while his players were accused of getting carried away celebrating their second goal before Spurs quickly hit back with an equaliser.
‘I want to see a composure from this Arsenal team and that’s difficult because the manager’s on the sideline jumping around like you wouldn’t believe.
‘I want to see passion, but I want to see composure and a coldness, and that feels like a contradiction. But I want to see it in the right moments at the right times.
‘When they scored that second goal, Saka’s penalty, which was a beautiful penalty, celebrate it, give your fans something because they want to see it means something.
Arsenal were accused of getting carried away while celebrating their second goal against Tottenham – before their rivals quickly equalised
Barcelona boss Xavi admitted he was ‘surprised’ by Arsenal’s ‘intensity and tactical fouling’ during a pre-season friendly in July, which his side lost 5-3
‘But there should be two or three senior players in that group saying, “Right, come on. Switch on now, we’re ready and we’re going to see this through”. Your mentality kicks in of knowing when a game’s in danger’.
Earlier this summer, Barcelona boss Xavi said he was ‘surprised’ by the Gunners’ ‘intensity and tactical fouling’ as they beat the Spanish giants 5-3 during a pre-season friendly in the US back in July.
‘I said to Mikel at the end of the game, it was like a Champions League tie with the intensity they put in.
‘It was not normal for a friendly, but I understand everyone wants to win. For us, it was our first friendly and we went into it off the back of loads of players having had a bug.’
When asked if Arsenal’s intensity surprised him, he added: ‘Not ours, but Arsenal’s, yes. It is not normal to play with so much intensity, making tactical fouls.
‘Everyone wants to compete, but it is a friendly. They were playing with another level of intensity. We took it seriously but the main reason [for losing] was the difference in rhythm and match sharpness.’
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