Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher couldn’t hide his thoughts on Arsenal’s late draw vs Manchester City and their attacking prowess against the six-time champions on Sunday – with the Liverpool legend stating that the Gunners’ lack of open play chances should be a ‘worry’ for Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal only salvaged a point against Pep Guardiola’s men in the final minutes of the game on Sunday afternoon, when Gabriel Martinelli latched onto Eberechi Eze’s long ball to lob Gianluigi Donnarumma, securing a vital point for the Gunners on home turf.
Carragher: Arsenal’s Lack of Open Play Chances ‘Are a Worry’
The fact they couldn’t get a win over the line could potentially harm their chances of winning the title as they now sit five points behind Liverpool in the title race, but the character shown to rescue a point against one of the country’s top sides is clear for all to see.
Yet Carragher wasn’t massively impressed. He stated on Sky Sports that although Arsenal had dragged themselves to a point, he couldn’t shake worries that they were largely unable to score goals from open play – with it being an unusually lobsided City high line that let them back into the game late on. The Liverpool icon said:
“For me, I can’t get away from the fact that Arsenal still don’t look like they are going to score a goal from open play.
“That is a worry for me at Arsenal. It still looks like that.”
The Gunners only mustered one shot on target in the first half, with Noni Madueke firing straight at Donnarumma – and the second half wasn’t much better. Eze had a shot saved early in the second interval, and it was only Martinelli’s goal late on added to that cohort of attempts that threatened the Italian stopper by finding a late equaliser.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Mikel Arteta has 173 wins in 296 games as Arsenal boss.
Arsenal ended the game with 67 percent possession, 11 corners, and an incredible 582 passes. Yet they only ended up mustering three shots on target for all of their dominance, which simply isn’t good enough if they are to finally bring the title back to north London after a 21-year hiatus.
If they lose away at Newcastle United next Sunday, and Liverpool beat Crystal Palace, they’ll already have an eight-point deficit to make up and that could prove too much even at this early stage of the campaign, making Carragher’s concerns over their attacking prowess more than valid enough.