Jamie Carragher names Arsenal’s ‘biggest fear’, one player blows him away
Jamie Carragher has picked out what he thinks Arsenal’s biggest fear could be right now as they lead the way in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal have set the pace at the summit of the table in the early stages of this campaign, and they retained a three-point lead on Man City after a 1-0 win at Fulham last Saturday (18 October).
They finished 10 points behind title-winners Liverpool in 2024-25 after Arne Slot‘s side cruised through the majority of the season but struggled somewhat towards the latter stages.
The Reds’ issues have continued into this campaign, while Mikel Arteta‘s men have improved even further and are currently in the midst of an eight-game unbeaten run, with seven wins in that same time-frame.
Arsenal smashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in midweek to continue their unbeaten start in the Champions League, and they face Crystal Palace this weekend as they aim to stay top of the Premier League.
Carragher names Erling Haaland as Arsenal’s main PL title hope threat
Arsenal sit three points ahead of Man City heading into this weekend’s action, and Pep Guardiola’s side have been more reliant than ever on Erling Haaland‘s insane goal record so far this season to see them into second place.
The burly Norwegian has already scored 11 goals in eight league appearances so far in 2025-26, and Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher thinks Arsenal’s main worry right now could be his outstanding form.
Writing in his Telegraph column (24 October), the pundit insisted that Haaland can carry City to the title this season, saying: “Arsenal came into this season worried about Liverpool being the major obstacle to ending a 21-year title wait. Now their biggest fear might be Erling Haaland.
“Where Arsenal have the best squad among the contenders and Liverpool must fix well-documented issues, Manchester City have the most influential player and dynamic attacker.
“The Norwegian is the biggest reason why Pep Guardiola’s side have a great chance of reclaiming their crown. Without him, City’s most realistic target would be finishing in the top four.“
Matt Le Tissier has backed Man City for the title due to Haaland’s unstoppable form
Haaland notched a brace against Everton to secure a 2-0 victory last time out and to extend City’s own unbeaten run to eight games.
The Citizens failed to win the title for the first time since 2020 last season as they suffered a drastic drop-off in form over an extended period for the first time ever under Guardiola.
They look a lot more likely to be involved in the race for glory this time around due to his form, though, and Matt Le Tissier has backed Man City to win the title as a result of the 25-year-old helping them to become the top scorers in the league so far.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider this week, the former England striker said: “I think the bookies will probably have them (Arsenal) down as favourites now. I still think Man City are going to be a real key player in this title race.
“They’ve got themselves into second place, I think they’re the top scorers in the league. If they can just sort out the slight defensive issues that they may have on the counter on occasions, I think they’ll be the ones to beat in this title race, to be honest.
“Arsenal are picking up the results, they might not even be playing that great, but still picking up points where it’s necessary, but I do think Man City are going to be the biggest threats.”