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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, while reacting to Arsenal's exit from the UEFA Champions League (UCL), stated that Mikel Arteta's side are in danger of becoming Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners crashed out of the UCL following a 2-3 aggregate defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. Their chances of winning the Premier League also took a massive dent as they lost 0-2 to Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
However, Carragher believes that the resurgent Arsenal side, who are perhaps running out of fuel, are still in a good position to contest for the Premier League.
He stated (via The Telegraph):
"Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are in danger of becoming Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs; a side to be admired for nearly being great. Recognition for doing such a good job will be no consolation if history judges Arteta’s reign without a Premier League or Champions League on his CV."
The Bavarians, despite enduring one of their worst seasons recently, have entered the semi-finals of the UCL for the first time in four years and will face Real Madrid. As for the Gunners, who were hoping to seal a semi-final spot for the first time since 2009, fell flat like a lead balloon following Joshua Kimmich's 63rd-minute header in the second leg.
Carragher believed that the Gunners needed an addition to the squad, in the form of a seasoned striker, who could've chipped in with a goal or two in the two quarter-final legs against the German heavyweights.
Arsenal will try to bridge the gap for the Premier League title in their game against Wolves
The Gunners played extremely well last season and despite being atop the Premier League table for the longest time, failed to win their first PL trophy in almost two decades.
This season as well, they look astonishingly close to winning the Premier League, but only a Herculean effort will allow them to achieve the feat to stop runaway leaders Manchester City.
Their game against Wolves this weekend will prove to be a crucial one. It'll also be interesting to see how they catapult themselves into PL action after a rather harrowing defeat in the Champions League.
Jamie Carragher believes that Arsenal will be playing at the top level in England for some time, but need a player of Declan Rice's calibre in attack to bolster their chances of bagging silverware.
He added:
"Arsenal now need a player of Rice’s calibre in attack. They are the top scorers in the top division but have been goalless in five league games and were unable to find a way through in the Allianz Arena in midweek."
Interestingly, Mikel Arteta, too, following their defeat to Bayern Munich opened up about his squad's frailties, saying (via Football London):
"The reality is we don’t have a striker who is going to score 35, 40 goals–and we have to live with that."
Arsenal, however, are working behind the scenes for the summer transfer window and have reportedly identified Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins as a potential target.
Watkins, after scoring against the Gunners, stated that he grew up watching Arsenal play and dubbed Thierry Henry as his idol while growing up.
The 28-year-old Englishman has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season and the Gunners could look to capitalise on his allegiance to the club for bringing him to the Emirates.
