Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal’s bid to win the Premier League title could be dented by their uncertain goalkeeper situation.
The Gunners are top of the league after a superb start to the season, but Mikel Arteta looks to have a slight problem on his hands after he dropped Aaron Ramsdale for David Raya in goal – only to see the Spaniard produce a string of errors.
Raya was at fault for two goals in their 4-3 win over Luton Town in midweek, leading for calls to restore Ramsdale to the starting XI, and Carragher – speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet – says the lack of a strong No 1 ‘doesn’t feel right’ and could stop them winning their first title since 2004.
Carragher said: ‘They are the two things [the goalkeeper situation and the last-minute goals] that’s making me think Arsenal won’t win the league.
Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal’s uncertain goalkeeper situation could hurt their title bid
David Raya (R) replaced Aaron Ramsdale (L) in goal but has been guilty of making mistakes
‘I can’t think of many teams, if ever, who have won a league title without a goalkeeper being a big part of it and I just look at the goalkeeper situation, and it doesn’t feel right. I look at the last-minute goals and it could be a good thing, it could be a bad thing.
‘You’ve got to score last minute winning goals to win a title, that’s a fact, but it feels like it’s happened so often that those games can sometimes easily go the other way. It just feels like every game has to go to the wire. It doesn’t feel like any game is easy.’
He did add that Arsenal had a ‘decent’ chance of winning the league despite the problems they face – adding: ‘When I’ve watched Arsenal this season, last season I was probably more impressed with them.’
His fellow podcast host Roy Keane, however, was more upbeat on Arsenal’s title chances – insisting that Arteta’s men will have ‘belief’ after learning to win ugly.
Raya was at fault for two goals in Arsenal’s 4-3 win against Luton Town on Tuesday night
There have been some calls for Ramsdale to return to the starting XI after Raya’s mistakes
He said: ‘The biggest rivals last year [to Manchester City] was Arsenal and when they played last year, in two league games and the FA Cup, they were so far ahead of them. Whereas this year you look at Arsenal, and that will give them belief that they can compete and beat them.
‘I don’t know if they had that real belief last year that they could beat them, but I think if you’re in Arsenal’s camp, you must think, ‘do you know what lads, we’ve got a chance’.
‘The last three games [for Arsenal], the one at Brentford was a 1-0 win, a clean sheet away from home. It was an ugly game and a tough game, but I always felt they would get a goal in that game, and they did.
‘Then against Luton, they’re all over the place, giving bad goals away, but still won so they’re winning different types of games even if it’s a bit ugly.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright, however, admitted that the team going to the wire so often ‘doesn’t feel comfortable’ – but still feels his beloved side have a chance of becoming champions.
Arsenal’s games have been going to the wire this season – with Carragher claiming it could be a bad sign
But Roy Keane says the Gunners will have belief to win the title after learning to ‘win ugly’
‘[Arsenal] going to the wire [in games] doesn’t feel comfortable. Even Wolves the other day, you felt like if Wolves had a little bit more about them, they could have gone at Arsenal.
‘I felt like Arsenal were slipping back a little bit and then they scored a goal through the mistake. The game against Luton was a worry simply because I thought we were very much in control of the game.’
He added: ‘Arsenal can win the league. We know that Manchester City have a run in them, so they had to win that game [against Luton].
‘I think the celebrations showed how important it is to win those games because if Arsenal had drawn that game last night, especially the keeper would have got a lot more [criticism] and the negativity would have started coming.’
