Liverpool legend highlights the league's striker crisis and suggests creativity is Arsenal’s real issue.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has criticized the current crop of strikers in the Premier League. Recently, speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, the former Liverpool defender claimed that many of them simply aren’t up to the required standard. Carragher pointed to several top clubs this season including Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea, all of whom have struggled with their forward options.
Talking about Arsenal’s crisis in scoring in recent games brought up the issue in the entire league and further. He said, “You think about some of the other big teams in the Premier League, where are the strikers?”
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He added, “Liverpool signed [Darwin] Nunez, not good enough. [Rasmus] Hojlund, [at United] not good enough. [Nicolas] Jackson isn’t good enough for Chelsea.” His comments came after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United.
It was a result that all but ended the Gunners’ Premier League title hopes this season. Even with the criticism the club is facing from everyone for not signing a top striker in January, Carragher believes the real problem for Arsenal isn’t finishing, but creativity.
Arsenal were widely expected to prioritize the signing of a world-class striker during the summer transfer window, with Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko among their reported targets. However, it didn’t happen and Carragher has pushed back against this narrative.
He has argued that Mikel Arteta’s side lacks creative spark rather than an elite finisher. He said, “But the problem they have is not a finishing problem. It’s a creation problem. They don’t create enough chances. That’s the biggest problem that they’ve got right now.”
So far, statistics from Sky Sports support his claims — Arsenal have actually outperformed their expected goals (xG) tally this season over the last two. They’ve scored 20 more goals than what their xG suggests. Their xG figures this season are comparable to mid-table sides like Crystal Palace and Brentford.
This shows that there’s a clear lack of high-quality chances being created. Former Southampton manager Russell Martin echoed Carragher’s thoughts. He noted that Arsenal’s slow and predictable build-up play against Manchester United made it easy for the Red Devils to defend.
It will spell bad for Arsenal if they continue with the pattern they did against Man United. They have a crucial match against PSV in the Champions League and then against Chelsea in the Premier League. They have a 6-goal lead in the UCL from the first leg, so even though they’re in a safer position, the stats and struggles don’t inspire confidence for the longer run.
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