Jamie Carragher says the stats prove his claim that Mikel Arteta is turning Arsenal into a Jose Mourinho team.
The former Liverpool man recently outlined on Sky Sports' 'Monday Night Football' his view that Arteta has moved away from the teaching of former mentor Pep Guardiola and embraced Mourinho's less attractive style of play in a bid to win the Premier League title.
The Gunners find themselves nine points off league-leaders Liverpool after 11 games played, but Carragher's fellow pundit Gary Neville is still backing Arteta to win the title this season, with this new style of play, after twice missing out to City.
Analysis by The Athletic has revealed that Arsenal kick the ball long (at least 40 metres) at goal kicks 70 per cent of the time, which is the most of any Premier League side this season. Everton are second with 63% and Nottingham Forest third with 57%.
By contrast, City kick the ball long 25% of the time, Liverpool do it 16% and Tottenham have never done it this season.
Replying to the stat, Carragher posted on X: "Arsenal fans telling me they aren’t direct like Jose!"
Carragher's comments on 'Monday Night Football' did not go down well with sections of the Arsenal fanbase, but the former defender insisted at the time that it was not an insulting assessment.
Carragher explained: "I think there was a feeling that Arsenal were not strong enough, not powerful enough.
Arsenal fans telling me they aren’t direct like Jose!
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) November 18, 2024
"So he brought in Declan Rice, 6ft 2in, box-to-box midfield player. Kai Havertz, an attacking player, whether that's midfield or part of your front three, but he's not a silky player, he's a physical player. He holds the ball up, he's good in the air. Jurrien Timber, brilliant defender, but he's a solid defender first and foremost, not like a Zinchenko going into midfield.
"So when I talk about where this team is morphing to, I don't just pluck a statement out to try and create headlines. And it's not a criticism. It's an analysis that this team has gone from intricate players to strong, powerful players.
"You look at the players brought in at Arsenal and it is morphing towards Mourinho. It's not a criticism for Arsenal or Mikel Arteta, it's analysis. Because this is a guy who's won the Premier League three times."
