Arsenal were recently knocked out of the Champions League after losing away to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain after which Arteta suggested his team had been the best side in this year's Champions League despite being knocked out at the semi-final stage. Carragher warned the Spanish head coach that his comments are ridiculous and that he must win silverware next season or he may face the sack.
Carragher believes Arteta's comments are ridiculous
"One of the worrying signs of a manager under pressure is when interviews become more about validating work already done, fending off mounting criticism of the here and now amid increased questioning about what comes next.
"Some of Arteta’s most recent public comments have veered into that territory, making him sound more like a fan on social media perpetuating a series of complaints about injuries and refereeing decisions.
"His remarks about Arsenal deserving to beat Paris St-Germain over two legs in the Champions League semi-final left him open to ridicule.
"Luis Enrique’s side have been by far the best side in this year’s competition, and they showed their class in both games.”
Liverpool may prove Arteta wrong
The Gunners are set to face former title rivals and now champions Liverpool on Sunday afternoon in what is a quick turnaround for Arteta’s side. Carragher believes that his comments suggesting that Arsenal scored more points than the Reds in previous seasons and deserved the title will come back to haunt him.
"Arteta comparing Liverpool’s title-winning performance to Arsenal’s runners-up spot in 2023 and 2024 on the eve of facing the new champions was not clever, either.
"If Liverpool win their next three games, they will finish on 91 points. That’s more than any Arsenal side in history, which is why Arteta’s observation in midweek about Arne Slot winning with fewer points after 35 games than Arsenal won after 38 in the past two years will be mocked.
"For the record, Arsenal had 80 points at the exact same stage a year ago, and 81 the year before, which would have put them in second place right now, too."