The verdict landed on an Overlap Fan Debate stage packed with Arsenal fans. Jamie Carragher, the Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender, told them bluntly that lifting the European Cup was another matter entirely.
“So, when I do watch you play, I think it’d be very difficult for you to win the Champions League,” Carragher told the audience.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal come into this stretch of the season as reigning English champions. The 44-year-old ended a 22-year title drought last season and took his side to a Champions League final, lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
He was rewarded on 7 October with a new contract through to June 2030, tying him to the club as the only Premier League-winning manager currently working in England’s top flight.
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Mourinho more than Wenger
The core of Carragher’s argument is about identity. In his Telegraph column, relayed by Arsenal Insider, he described Arteta as a coach whose instincts run closer to Jose Mourinho than Arsene Wenger.
“Arteta demands his attackers embrace defensive responsibilities. That’s his make-up. Tactically, he remains more like Jose Mourinho than Wenger,” Carragher wrote.
That identity, Carragher argues, is also the engine of Arsenal’s domestic dominance. Eight league games in, Arsenal sit second on 21 points, level with Manchester City and separated only on goal difference, with seven wins and a single defeat. In Europe they have seven points from three matchdays: a 1-0 win at Napoli, a 3-0 home victory over Lille and a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich.
The Liverpool warning
Carragher’s second worry is that chasing European glory tempts a manager into tweaking a winning formula. He urged Arteta to resist it, citing Liverpool’s experience of trying to look more convincing in attack after lifting the Premier League, which he said complicated the campaign that followed.
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The stakes for standing still are substantial. Arsenal have not retained a league championship since 1934-35, meaning a successful title defence this season would be the club’s first in 92 years.
The attacking question
For the Champions League, the sticking point is personnel. Carragher’s column referenced a parallel universe in which Vinicius Junior had signed for Arsenal, and his broader read is that the squad lacks the “stardust” up front that European champions tend to carry.
After the Naples win, Arteta said Arsenal had to earn the right to return to the final.
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