Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher reckons that just finishing in the top four would be an achievement this season.
Part-time pundit, full-time moaner Carragher has been giving his opinion on how Arsenal are getting on this season and he reckons that it’ll be an achievement if the Gunners manage to finish in the top four, let alone win the title.
“We’ve always criticised Arsene Wenger for saying top four was an achievement,” the pundit told the Telegraph’s Total Football podcast (via the Express).
“I think top four is an achievement now, certainly for Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal.
“You name those three who probably spend the most money who go for the league, I’d say the other three are probably going for the last position.
“Maybe not Tottenham, I might be doing them a disservice there, I think they could go for the league.
“But it was always a top four when we played and you knew at the start of the season you’d make the Champions League.
“There was always Arsenal and Manchester United going for the league and it would be us or Leeds, us or Newcastle, or Chelsea, trying to get the last two positions for the top four really.
“Now it feels like a top six, where if you’re outside the top four it’s going to look like a nightmare season.”
To be fair, I get his point. Both Manchester clubs are currently flying with 19 points from seven games. Neither team have lost, both have only drawn once and they’ve scored a combined 43 goals while shipping just four.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are down in fifth with 13 points. While we’ve definitely improved since that horrific defeat at Anfield at the end of August, dropping points that early in the season can be hard to recover from short-term.
Long-term, if the Gunners remain consistent, there’s every chance (kind of) we can catch up with the big boys. But that’s always the case and where Arsene Wenger’s side so often falls down.
So much can change in the space of a season and not always for the better. Especially not for us at least…
Arsenal face Watford at 5:30pm on Saturday after the international break. Hopefully we can hit the ground running after beating Brighton 2-0 during our last fixture. We really need to get some momentum now.