Jamie Carragher believes a ‘little tactical shift’ has breathed new life into Arsenal after they took control of the Premier League title race and reached the Champions League final.
Mikel Arteta’s side were the best team in Europe during the first-half of the season but have been stumbling towards the finish line in recent weeks.
Arsenal fell short in both domestic cup competitions and then suffered what at the time felt like a costly defeat to title rivals Manchester City.
But the Gunners have responded brilliantly to that setback, winning back-to-back Premier League games and overcoming Atletico Madrid to reach the Champions League final.
While Arsenal looked back on track, Man City slipped up in the title race on Monday night as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Everton, leaving Pep Guardiola’s team five points behind the league leaders.
Recent results mean Arsenal are on course to lift the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2004 and are one game away from their maiden Champions League trophy.
Carragher, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, says Arteta’s side were ‘definitely wobbling’ but have improved since ‘fantastic’ Declan Rice adopted a deeper role.
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‘I thought Declan Rice was fantastic and the best player in both legs,’ Carragher said on CBS Sports after Arsenal knocked out Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
‘Even though Arsenal find themselves where they are in the Champions League and the Premier League because of what they’ve done over nine or ten months, they were definitely wobbling.
‘In the last week they’ve sorted themselves out and I think the decision to move Declan Rice a little bit deeper has had a huge influence.
‘I thought he was really good out in Madrid and got the Man of the Match award in the second leg as well. In-between that Arsenal beat Fulham and it was the first time we’ve really seen them look at ease and play free.
‘It had probably been a few months since we’ve seen that, maybe since they beat Tottenham 4-1 in the north London derby.
‘I think that little tactical shift with Declan Rice has had a huge impact and they are now two games away from winning the Premier League and Champions League double.
‘They have the Champions League final, obviously, but if they beat West Ham at the weekend they will win the Premier League, it would be all over.
‘So that’s how close they are but you’ve still got to get across the line and get there – but it does look a different team than we saw even just a couple of weeks ago.’
Bukayo Saka’s first-half goal settled Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Atletico after a 1-1 draw in Madrid in the first leg.
The Gunners will face French champions PSG or German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on May 30.
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