By Cameron Winstanley,Samuel Meade

Copyright dailystar

Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal are beginning to mirror the Liverpool sides he featured in under Rafa Benitez and Gerard Houllier – squads that ultimately fell short of Premier League glory . The Sky Sports pundit reflected on how those teams “had the handbrake on” and believes Mikel Arteta is adopting a similar cautious approach. The Gunners salvaged a dramatic late equaliser against Manchester City thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time effort. Pep Guardiola’s men had grabbed an early advantage through Erling Haaland and settled to defend their lead for the rest of the match, coming agonisingly close to securing all three points. Yet it marked another occasion where Arsenal couldn’t capitalise on their superiority . Carragher insists “they wasted 45 minutes” and criticised Arteta for overthinking how to neutralise opponents instead of maximising his squad’s potential. Arsenal splashed the cash once more in the transfer window and now possesses a squad featuring talents like Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres. However, Arteta opted to start three defensive midfielders in Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice. Despite having such wealth at his disposal, Carragher warns Arteta’s tactics could prove detrimental. Speaking on Sky Sports, he declared: “For me that was a waste for 45 minutes and the reason I’m saying that is because I played for managers who did that at Liverpool. “We were really close, we were a top team but we never won the Premier League . I always felt at times under Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez maybe we had the handbrake on now and again in certain games. “That is what Mikel Arteta is doing. Liverpool were there for the taking in that second half at Anfield. Man City were there for the taking at the start of this game and he’s allowed them to come into the game. “It’s just a recurring pattern, season after season and if you’re Mikel Arteta or an Arsenal supporter you’ve just got to hope that doesn’t cost you at the end of the season because they are a brilliant team.” Arteta faced similar criticism following the defeat at Anfield weeks earlier, where Liverpool netted their decisive goal in the closing moments. The Gunners had chances to capitalise on their dominance but squandered them. Gary Neville admitted the north London outfit “at this moment in time haven’t got that risk in their game, that courage to go and think they can win.” Sunday’s draw at the Emirates leaves Arsenal trailing Liverpool by five points after just five matches. Arteta faces mounting pressure to secure silverware having finished runners-up in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons.