Arsenal’s emphatic victory over Atletico Madrid forced Jamie Carragher to admit for the first time that the Gunners are genuine Champions League contenders. The North London side maintained their perfect record in the tournament on Tuesday night, scoring four goals within 13 minutes to beat Atleti 4-0.
Mikel Arteta’s side have currently dispatched Athletic Club, Olympiakos and Atletico Madrid without scoring a single goal. Gabriel Magalhães broke the deadlock by nodding in Declan Rice’s set-piece, before Gabriel Martinelli scored a superb second goal. Victor Gokeres then struck twice from close range to end the drought and give the Gunners another three points.
Arteta’s side sit at the top of the Champions League group stage table alongside reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain and last season’s finalists Inter Milan, and are also top of the Premier League table.
Carragher was thoroughly impressed with their performance against Diego Simeone’s side and revised his assessment of their prospects following last season’s semi-final run.
“I think Arsenal and Bayern are the most impressive teams I’ve ever seen, if you look at their domestic performance and how they’ve done in the Champions League,” the former Liverpool defender told CBS Sports.
“I’ve said on this program before that I’ve never felt like Arsenal were an underdog club in the Champions League. It might sound obvious because they’ve never won it before, but I always thought there was something off about them. They’ve never really come close.”
“Thierry (Arsenal)’s team was the best team I’ve ever played against in the Premier League, but even that team didn’t come close to winning the Champions League. It wasn’t the team that made it to the Champions League final.”
“Looking at this team now, you can see how strong they are defensively. The Liverpool team that won the Champions League (in 2005) wasn’t a great attacking team, but they were strong defensively.
“It always gives you a chance, especially in the knockout stages or when it’s a two-way game. If you defend well, you always have a chance. So, yes, I think Arsenal are one of the four or five teams that can win this competition.”
PSG continued their perfect start with a 7-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night, while Inter defeated Union Saint Giroise.
However, thanks to the solidity of their defense and the strength of their team, Arsenal won 2-0 against Athletic Club and Olympiakos, establishing themselves as a powerhouse in Europe.
Arteta expressed his delight with his team’s performance against Atleti. “I’m very happy and proud of the performance and result against a really good opponent,” he said. “I was very impressed when I analyzed them and also what I saw about them today.
“So we knew how difficult it was. It required a lot of aggression and patience as well. And the way they managed the game situation and manipulated their own actions was really impressive.”
