Jamie Carragher accuses Mikel Arteta of ‘self-sabotaging’ Arsenal’s title hopes

Ben Foster slams Arsenal transfer as ‘pathetic’ and insists it ‘didn’t need to happen’ Jamie Carragher believes that Mikel Arteta may already be sabotaging Arsenal’s title hopes by putting too much pressure on his players. The Gunners put up a good fight last time around but were ultimately pipped to the end-of-season honours by Manchester City, although an expensive summer recruitment drive has brought a renewed wave of optimism. Arsenal have made a solid start to the new Premier League campaign with two wins and a draw but Carragher has criticised their reaction to last weekend’s draw against Fulham. The former Liverpool defender believes that Arteta needs to calm things down, with things ‘far too intense’ despite the season having only just got underway. “Mikel Arteta’s side approach to the opening fixtures has been more reminiscent of the title run-in, where every mistake is amplified and dropped points are considered catastrophic to hopes of winning the championship,” wrote Carragher in his column for The Telegraph. “Everyone – and I include supporters, players and the manager – seems far too intense, too soon. It feels like the club needs to chill out and stop panicking. The team is in a good place, but treating so-so performances or early home draws like last week’s against Fulham as a serious title setback is a surefire way of self-sabotaging aspirations before the campaign has truly got underway. Jamie Carragher has urged Mikel Arteta to ease the pressure on his Arsenal players “The response to wins has been similarly extreme. Witness the Arsenal celebrations after the 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace. That was an encouraging, hard-fought win, eked out in difficult circumstances when reduced to 10 men. The reaction still reminded me of a side with two games left, not one playing the second game of the season.” Carragher went on to explain that Arsenal’s early panic is partly down to City, who have set the bar extremely high over the last few years. They ended up winning a historic treble last time out despite not being at their best for much of the campaign, while Arsenal enjoyed one of their strongest seasons in years but were left empty-handed once again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Arsenal’s players were visibly frustrated after drawing with Fulham last weekend