Jamie Carragher slams Mikel Arteta signing who could cost Arsenal the title

Jamie Carragher fears Arsenal’s refusal to prioritise signing a forward in the summer transfer window could cost Arsenal the Premier League title.

After two consecutive near misses, the Gunners were heavily tipped to finally end Manchester City’s dominance this season.

And while Arteta’s men looked prime to finally finish ahead of the champions, it is Liverpool who have stolen a march at the top of the table.

Wednesday’s win in the north London derby saw Arsenal cut the lead at the top to four points, albeit having played a game more than Arne Slot’s pacesetters, but amid a raft of injuries the feeling persists that the north London club are clinging to Liverpool’s coattails.

With Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus sustaining serious injuries, Arsenal look short of firepower and although they are attempting to rectify that in the January window, Carragher feels they will regret not bolstering their attack in the summer.

Arteta sanctioned the signings of Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino who have made only a limited impact so far, with Carragher particularly skeptical about the decision to recruit the Spain midfielder.

He told The Telegraph: ‘It is obvious where the frustration will be directed if they fall off the pace. Long-standing and justified concerns about a lack of firepower have not been addressed.

‘Prioritising signing midfielder Mikel Merino ahead of another attacker last summer looks like a mistake. Merino is not a game-changer.

‘Everything we have seen in the first half of this campaign has reinforced arguments made in pre-season.

‘I wrote a few months ago that Chelsea cannot win the title without signing a goalkeeper and centre-back. Their recent performances have exposed where they are short.

‘Arsenal cannot win the title without another attacker. That was true before Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus’s injuries.

‘If they do not react before the end of this month it will be negligent because persisting with a strikeforce of Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli will not get the job done.’

Arsenal did sign Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea on deadline day but he has failed to live up to expectations and was hauled off with half an hour remaining in midweek having been handed a rare start.

Merino, meanwhile, has failed to nail down a starting spot under Arteta after a difficult start to his Arsenal career which saw him suffer a shoulder injury in his first training session.

Even before he arrived, Arsenal were said to harbour doubts about recruiting him, but the Euro 2024 winner is adamant he will end up justifying his manager’s decision to put so much faith in him.

‘I might be big and strong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have other qualities,’ he said recently.

‘Obviously, I’m not a David Silva style of player. But the pass-first mentality, keeping the ball, and not feeling the pressure when you have a player on your back. Those are things that I have in my game.

‘I’m not going to be the player who moves in the pocket like David Silva did or like (Andres) Iniesta did. I’m a different kind of player. But I also have the same mentality as they had.’