Jamie Carragher doubles down on evaluating Mikel Arteta to Jose Mourinho as he insists the Arsenal boss does not possess the ‘attacking high quality’ that title rivals Man City have

Jamie Carragher has insisted Mikel Arteta is adopting a Jose Mourinho-esque style of play in a bid to compete with title rivals Manchester City.

The Gunners have recorded back-to-back second place finishes and took Pep Guardiola‘s side right down to the wire last season before City recorded a history-making fourth consecutive league title.

However, despite going unbeaten in their first seven league games this season, Arsenal now find themselves in a precarious position, with Saturday’s defeat by Newcastle marking three games without a win.

Speaking following the club’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool last month Carragher claimed Arteta is ‘slowly morphing into a Jose Mourinho-type manager’ sparking backlash from fans.

The former Liverpool defender has since doubled down on his analysis, and claimed Arsenal’s comparative lack of firepower in the final third has led to Arteta adopting the approach. 

Jamie Carragher insisted Mikel Arteta is adopting Jose Mourinho’s style of play with Arsenal

The former Liverpool defender added Arsenal are prioritising physicality to make up for their attacking deficiencies when compared with Man City

Mourinho won three Premier League titles across two separate spells at Chelsea

‘Anyone who thinks I just plucked this Jose Mourinho thing out to sort of create a negativity around us, is not analysing exactly where Arsenal are going.’ Carragher said on Sky Sports.

‘If people don’t agree with that, I don’t think you’re actually watching what’s going on with Arsenal right now. 

‘I think Mikel Arteta feels he doesn’t have the attacking quality that Manchester City have. 

‘So he’s going another way to try and win the league, which is being strong defensively and a more powerful team.’

Carragher added that the club’s summer arrivals, defender Riccardo Calafiori and midfielder Mikel Merino embody the kind of physical style that Mourinho utilised to such success during his two spells at Chelsea. 

‘They get bullied at Manchester City’s ground and towards the end of the season, lose the title. And I think there’s a feeling that we’re not strong enough, we’re not powerful enough, right?

Carragher added that the Gunners’ summer recruitment including the signing of Mikel Merino highlighted their change in approach

‘So when I talk about where this team is morphing to, I don’t just pluck at 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.

‘This summer, Calafiori again, he’s a center back playing left back and Merino comes in 6ft 2in midfield player who actually, when he joined the club said “when I went to the dressing room, I felt like I was with a basketball team, not a football team” because the size of all the players. 

‘This is not a criticism, this is an analysis of where Mikel Arteta is trying to take this team and how he’s trying to win the Premier League title.’