Jamie Carragher has pinpointed Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba as the duo that have taken Arsenal to the next level this season.
Following their 3-1 win over north London rivals Tottenham the Gunners sit top of the Premier League with an impressive 21 points from a possible 24. Their start to the new season is perhaps even more impressive when last campaign’s collapse is taken into consideration.
Mikel Arteta’s side looked destined for the Champions League for much of the run-in, until defeats to Newcastle and Spurs opened the door for their neighbours to pinch fourth place. Carragher offered a pessimistic view on where Arsenal would go from there, claiming they had blown their big chance to return to Europe’s top competition.
But Arteta and technical director Edu quickly addressed the biggest issues within the young squad and their transfer business is looking more shrewd with each passing week. Jesus was the big summer splash, signing from Manchester City for £45million.
The Brazilian was tasked with replacing the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette and he has done that, and more. In his first eight Premier League games for the Gunners he has five goals and three assists and has offered even more than those stats suggest.
At the other end of the pitch, Arteta decided to finally integrate William Saliba into his plans, having allowed him to develop on loan for a number of seasons. The central defender shone in Ligue 1 last term for Marseille and was instantly made a starter back at his parent club.
And he has repaid that faith, displacing Ben White and forming a formidable partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of a miserly defence. “A lot of people thought that this season, maybe Spurs would be in the position that Arsenal are in now,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“I’ve seen Spurs got a bit of criticism, but in terms of how Conte plays - they played like a Conte team. If they’d have got the final pass right on three or four occasions, they should have gone in at half-time in front.
“But I take nothing away from Arsenal, I’ve been so impressed with them at the start of the season - the pace they play at, the football they play.
“And the two signings…well not signings but Saliba and Jesus have come in and completely taken this team to another level.”
Despite Arsenal’s brilliant start, feet are firmly on the floor at The Emirates, with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale insisting their journey has just started. “You lot are thinking about that [title challenge], we are just going into every game with a big smile on our face trying to win the game,” Ramsdale said.
“When we win, we celebrate and if we don’t then we evaluate it and go again. We’re a young team and literally we are going into a game trying to enjoy ourselves and winning. Then we’ll see where that takes us.
“We’re eight games in. Something always happens with the likes of Man City. A few years ago they were 14th at Christmas and went on some crazy run. We’re just loving the journey at the minute and long may that continue.”
