Wednesday 26 June 2013

Jamie Carragher on why Arsenal must step up to the plate in 2013/14 - SkySports

Jamie Carragher is Sky Sports' newest signing.

The former Liverpool and England defender joins our team of experts alongside the likes of Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness for a season where you can watch 116 live Barclays Premier League matches, more than ever before, in HD and on mobile and tablet devices only with Sky Sports.

As we count down to the new campaign, Jamie shared some of his thoughts on how some of the big clubs are shaping up.

Read on for his views on a big season for Arsenal and why they need a change of mentality and attitude in the coming season.

They've got to do a lot more than just reach the top four. Their aim has got to be to overtake Man United, Man City and Chelsea and make more of an impact at the top of the table.

I don't think there are any excuses now and I don't think there were before. Arsenal, the same as Liverpool, are a massive club.

Arsenal have obviously done better than Liverpool in terms of the Champions League but I'm not talking about Arsenal winning the Champions League or the league, I'm saying in the last eight years you'd expect them to win an FA Cup or maybe a League Cup.

It's been going on for so long now and it's been the same every year. They qualify for the Champions League and go out in the last 16 and fight to the end of the season to get in the top four. I'm sure the supporters would love to see them in Cup Finals and semi-finals. I think that's what they need to do.

They'll bring a few players in, as Arsene Wenger always does, but they've got to start getting the winning mentality back and get over the line in big games.

"They'll bring a few players in, as Arsene Wenger always does, but they've got to start getting that winning mentality back as they've had in the past and get over the line in big games."
Jamie Carragher

You never really expected Arsenal to win the big games in the last few years and that's something that they've got to overcome as well.

I think they can attract top players. They're in one of the nicest parts of the country, they've got a fantastic stadium and they've got a manager who has been there a long time so there's not a lot of chopping and changing.

People talk about them not offering the wages that other top sides offer because of the situation with the stadium, but that's getting healthier. They're in the Champions League as well, so I can't see that being a problem for Arsenal. They're one of the giants of English football.

They've lost certain types of players and characters that they had in the past. They haven't replaced the spine of the team that they had - Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell and the Invincibles.

Arsene Wenger is a master of the transfer market and he got a lot of those players for buttons really, but it's difficult to replace some of the best players in the world for peanuts.

It's difficult to keep coming back again - that's what Sir Alex Ferguson was so great at. Wenger has been there for so long and has built so many great sides, but it is difficult to keep doing it when there's two or three other teams in the league who are spending more than you and are also looking to take your best players.

It is a lot more difficult for Arsenal than it has been in the past, but that's the modern game and they have to deal with it - and I'm sure they'll be looking to get big, strong powerful players into the team.

That's what they need, especially in big games. At the moment you don't really expect Arsenal to go and win a big game.

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