Arsenal made a statement of intent with the North London Derby victory, but could they be their own worst enemy in achieving the Premier League title from here on.
Arsenal sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League after dismantling Tottenham 4-1 in a one‑sided North London derby at the Emirates. Defeats for both Manchester City and Liverpool on the same weekend have turned a tight title race into one that now looks firmly shaped around Mikel Arteta’s side.
Chelsea have moved into second but still trail Arsenal, underlining how effectively the league leaders have capitalised on their rivals’ stumbles heading into the festive period. In this context, it is no surprise that Jamie Carragher has gone on record saying Arsenal are the best team and best squad in the division right now.
The Tottenham demolition as a statement
If there was a day when the Premier League title race seemed to tilt decisively towards Arsenal, it was the derby against Spurs. Eberechi Eze’s hat‑trick in his first north London derby did more than deliver bragging rights; it pushed Arsenal six points clear and showcased a ruthless streak that has often been missing in previous seasons.
The performance felt significant because Arsenal did not merely beat Tottenham, they overpowered them, and could arguably have scored more against a side that barely laid a glove on them. Coming immediately after Manchester City lost at Newcastle United and Liverpool were thrashed at home, the result looked and felt like a clear statement that Arsenal intend to control this title race rather than chase it.
Why Arsenal are favourites right now
The simplest argument for Arsenal as favourites is mathematical: they have a clear points lead with a superior goal difference and fewer defeats than any of their main rivals. Manchester City have already lost four of their first 12 league games, something no Pep Guardiola team has ever done before at this stage, while Liverpool’s form has collapsed dramatically.
Over the past decade, Premier League champions have typically lost far fewer games than Manchester City have already recorded, which makes Arsenal’s more stable profile look far more like that of a future winner.
Chelsea, for all their improvement, are still chasing and have relied heavily on key figures such as Moises Caicedo to carry them through tight games. When the table-toppers are playing with fluency, have the best record, and watch their main historical benchmark slide away from the usual standard, they are reasonable to be called favourites.
Squad depth and a different kind of Arsenal
The sense that this Arsenal team is built differently from past nearly‑teams comes above all from their depth. The club followed up last summer’s squad‑building by adding Eberechi Eze in a big‑money move after hijacking a deal that seemed destined to take him to Tottenham, underlining both ambition and opportunism in the market.
Eze arrived off the back of a 16‑goal‑contribution league season with Crystal Palace, and his versatility to play wide, as an eight or as a ten has already given Arteta fresh options. That signing sat on top of an already strong core, and a busy window that also delivered reinforcements across the pitch, from midfield to defence and attack, enabling Arsenal to rotate without losing identity.
Crucially, this depth directly addresses the criticism that a thin squad cost Arsenal the 2022/23 title when a spring wobble and defensive injuries saw them run out of steam.
Learning from past collapses
The ghosts of previous title failures still hover around any conversation about Arsenal, and Carragher’s warning taps directly into that history. In 2022/23, the North Londoners led the table for much of the season before taking just nine points from their final eight games, a fall‑off that handed the trophy to Manchester City with matches to spare.
That run included chaotic draws against Liverpool, West Ham United, and Southampton, plus a damaging 4-1 defeat at the Etihad, and laid bare how fragile Arsenal became once pressure and injuries mounted.
Mikel Arteta admitted at the time that his team had been on an “incredible journey” but needed to “heal” after such a painful collapse, comments that framed the seasons since as a process of emotional and tactical repair. It is precisely this history that feeds Carragher’s line that the only team that can stop Arsenal winning the league is Arsenal themselves.
Unpacking Jamie Carragher’s verdict on Arsenal
Carragher has been unequivocal: he believes Arsenal are the best team in the league and possess the best squad, but also that their own mentality is the biggest threat to a title win. His claim that “the only team that can stop Arsenal winning the league is Arsenal” is not an empty soundbite; it is rooted in the idea that the technical and tactical gap that once separated them from City has largely closed.
Arsenal have shown they can control big games, defend with structure and create chances from multiple zones, especially since adding players like Eze to an already well‑drilled system.
What they have not yet proven is that, over 38 games, they can manage emotional swings, injuries and external noise without repeating the anxiety‑driven lapses that have scarred previous run‑ins. In that sense, Carragher’s verdict feels fair rather than provocative, because it acknowledges Arsenal’s superiority while putting responsibility squarely on their shoulders.
Are Arsenal their own worst enemy?
There is strong evidence that Carragher is right about the psychological side being Arsenal’s final hurdle. In 2022/23, it was not a single injury or tactical flaw that undid them but a cluster of missteps under pressure: giving up leads, mismanaging game states, and failing to reset quickly after setbacks.
Mikel Arteta’s current squad is deeper and more experienced, but pressure behaves in strange ways when the finishing line comes into view and memories of past failures start to resurface.
Arsenal now need to show they can treat this campaign as a new story, not a sequel, using their bench and game management to quieten matches rather than letting chaos reign, especially in the spring run‑in. If they manage that, Carragher’s warning will feel less like a prophecy and more like the final test they have finally passed.
Can Manchester City, Chelsea or Liverpool still catch Arsenal?
History says a six or seven‑point lead at this stage is not unassailable, but the pattern of this season gives Arsenal an edge that goes beyond raw numbers. Manchester City remain the benchmark for sustained excellence, yet four defeats in their first 12 games and clear issues away from home suggest this is not the machine of previous years.
The Premier League’s own analysis notes that champions in the last decade have averaged around 3.8 defeats across an entire season, which underlines how much ground City already need to make up just to match historic title‑winning profiles.
Chelsea may actually be the more realistic chasers right now: they are closer in the table and coming off a positive run in which they have tightened their structure and leaned on Caicedo’s influence in midfield.
Liverpool, by contrast, have slumped badly, losing six of their last seven league games and even suffering back‑to‑back three‑goal home defeats, which looks more like the form of a team resetting than one ready to claw back a dominant leader
What Arsenal must do to cement favouritism
To turn “favourites” into “champions‑elect”, Arsenal’s job from here is less about discovering something new and more about sticking to what is already working. The first priority is to keep using their depth intelligently, trusting players like Eze and other summer signings to start big games so that key figures are not overworked heading into the final third of the season.
Their second task is to treat every fixture like a mini‑final without slipping into the tension that once paralysed them, especially in away matches where leaders like Manchester City have traditionally applied pressure in the past.
Arsenal also need to manage the narrative, internally if not externally: framing each setback as a test they are equipped to pass rather than a trigger for old doubts, particularly when the inevitable dip in form arrives. If they can maintain defensive solidity, rotate smartly and continue to win games even when not at their fluent best, their current advantage could harden into something that feels close to insurmountable.
Conclusion: why this is Arsenal’s title to lose
Right now, everything about this Premier League season points towards Arsenal having the best chance to lift the trophy in May, from their six‑point lead and commanding goal difference to the way they have seized momentum while their traditional rivals stumble.
The 4-1 demolition of Tottenham, powered by Eberechi Eze’s hat‑trick, symbolised a side no longer content to play the plucky challenger, but one prepared to crush an opponent and extend its advantage at the top.
Unlike previous years, Arsenal’s bench now looks as strong as their starting lineup, with Eze joining an already talented group and a broader summer rebuild giving Arteta the flexibility to rotate in almost every line without losing identity.
That depth matters because it directly tackles the old charge that a thin squad left Arsenal physically and mentally drained in the decisive weeks of 2022/23, when injuries and pressure combined to derail a season that had promised so much.
With Manchester City uncharacteristically fragile, Liverpool in crisis and Chelsea still some way from complete, Arsenal possess not only the most complete squad but also the clearest pathway to the title, leaving the growing sense that, this time, the trophy will be theirs if they simply keep doing what they are already doing.