Jamie Carragher names the signing that could win Arsenal the title
Jamie Carragher has accused Gianluigi Donnarumma of ‘blinking first’ in the title race and says his rival David Raya could be one of the ‘biggest reasons’ Arsenal win the Premier League.
Last month Liverpool legend and ex-England defender Carragher suggested Donnarumma could be the key for Man City to beat Arsenal to the league title.
Carragher doubted City’s title credentials at the start of the season but changed his mind as soon as Donnarumma moved to the Etihad Stadium from PSG.
‘At the start of the season, I didn’t think there was any way City could win the league because of the goalkeeping situation,’ Carragher said.
‘No one wins a Premier League without an absolutely great goalkeeper and there’s no doubt about Donnarumma, a Champions League winner who won the Euros with Italy.
‘They’ve got a goalkeeper who can win the league. before they signed him, there was no way they could win a league without signing someone of that calibre.’
Manchester City signed Donnarumma to replace Ederson as Pep Guardiola’s No. 1 despite welcoming James Trafford to the club earlier in the summer.
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At just £26m, Donnarumma has been one of the signings of the season, frequently pulling off impressive saves to earn Man City points.
But the 27-year-old Italian made a rare mistake in City’s 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday, failing to claim a corner and allowing ex-Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos to head home.
The error proved crucial as City were unable to respond with a winner, slipping nine points behind title rivals Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners beat Everton 2-0 earlier in the day, with 16-year-old Max Dowman stealing headlines with an immense performance off the bench.
But Raya also played a key role in Arsenal’s crucial win, making a number of saves while the score was still goalless before two late goals sealed the three points for Arteta’s side.
Carragher highlighted the difference between Raya and Donnarumma’s weekend’s on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football and insisted the former could be ‘one of the biggest reasons’ Arsenal win the title.
Asked whether the two goalkeepers could have a big say on the outcome of the title race, Carragher said: ‘Absolutely and I think most of us favoured Donnarumma didn’t we because of his experience and the fact he’s been there before.
‘But there’s no doubt that Donnarumma blinked first. He made an error, corners can be difficult for goalkeepers now but that wasn’t really the case here.
‘He wasn’t knocked out of the way or blocked, it was just really poor from the goalkeeper, he just gets it wrong and misjudges the flight of the ball.
How many trophies will Arsenal win this season?
‘That was the goal that brought it back to 1-1 and Man City couldn’t go on to get that winning goal.’
Turning his attention to Raya and a sharp save he made during the win over Arsenal, Carragher added: ‘Listen, we think Arsenal are going to go on to win the Premier League.
‘If they do, he [Raya] has been one of the biggest reasons why. Not just this season, but the actual signing and changing Aaron Ramsdale for him.
‘That save when the game was 0-0, it was absolutely brilliant goalkeeping and kept the score goalless and we all know what happened at the end of the game.’
Arsenal and Manchester City not put their Premier League title aspirations on pause for almost a month as attentions turn to cup competitions.
The Gunners face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday night while Man City take on Real Madrid before the Premier League giants meet in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time goal cancelled out Erling Haaland’s early opener and earned Arsenal a 1-1 draw against Manchester City the first time these two sides met this season.
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