Jamie Carragher lauds Arsenal’s summer transfer business

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has lauded Arsenal’s business during the summer transfer window and believes the north London side can have a genuine crack at the top four this season. The Capital outfit suffered a disappointing end to the previous campaign as they finished one point behind the Champions League places while suffering an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Chelsea in the Europa League final.

Thereafter, they were fears that the Gunners may not strengthen the squad sufficiently with just a £40m budget on the table but the club have certainly surprised many with as many as six purchases including the club-record £72m arrival of Nicolas Pepe from Lille. Speaking to Sky Sports, Carragher said that the Gunners will certainly not compete for the league title this term but they have the credentials to make another strong push for the top four positions.

He said: "I’m looking at Arsenal. Not so much as in I think they are going to challenge for the title, I still think they will be there or thereabouts in the top four. "But when you think about the pessimism after the Europa League final and how far they were away from Chelsea in that game. And there is talk of £40m to spend which isn’t a great deal of money. But they seem to have done a lot of business and come out a lot healthier than people, certainly Arsenal fans, were fearing."

Arsenal have begun the season with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United on the road and that is certain to bring pleasure among the fans, considering the club have barely won their opening game of any league campaign. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winner for a much-weakened Gunners side, with a number of senior players were on the bench or left out due to injuries. Arsenal’s next game comes against Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.