Carragher s column: Arsenal don t need to be afraid of Liverpool, the real threat is Haaland

Sports 3:37pm, 24 October 2025 178

Carragher published a signed article in the Daily Telegraph column titled "Arsenal should not be scared of Liverpool – they should fear Erling Haaland (Arsenal should not be scared of Liverpool – they should fear Erling Haaland (Arsenal does not need to be afraid of Liverpool, the real threat is Haaland)". The article believes that Haaland has become the greatest striker in English football and is Arsenal's biggest threat to end the 21-year Premier League title drought.

The article wrote that at the beginning of this season, Arsenal was worried that Liverpool would become the main obstacle to their championship. But now, their biggest fear may be Haaland.

While Arsenal have the best squad among the title contenders and Liverpool have some well-known issues to address, Manchester City has the most impactful players and the most dynamic attackers. Haaland is Guardiola's side's best hope of regaining the title. Without him, City's most realistic goal might just be to finish in the top four of the Premier League.

Manchester City's performance against Everton last weekend was relatively mediocre, but Haaland's brace helped them win.

When a championship-contending team relies so much on one player, it's often concerning. But Guardiola will feel lucky because Haaland can have a decisive impact every time he appears. He is the deadliest finisher among strikers of this generation and is already comparable to legends of the past.

Carragher insists that Haaland is already the greatest shooter that contemporary fans have seen in the English league.

Although Haaland is still a long way from Alan Shearer's record of 260 Premier League goals, it is meaningless to compare with the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. Statistically speaking, England's greatest ever goalscorer is Jimmy Greaves, who scored an astonishing 357 top-flight goals in 516 games. If Haaland can fulfill his contract at Manchester City, it is entirely possible for him to reach this height.

The 25-year-old Haaland has scored 96 goals in 105 Premier League appearances, and is only 4 goals away from the 100-goal milestone. Greaves achieved this achievement in 109 league games, Shearer took 125 games, Kane took 141 games, Aguero took 147 games and Henry took 160 games. According to the current goal efficiency, Haaland will break all records and is expected to become the most efficient scorer in football history.

Carragher said that Haaland's amazing scoring efficiency is enough to support his view that as long as he stays healthy, it is only a matter of time before he surpasses these scoring records. But another important criterion is Haaland's direct impact on the club winning major honours.

When comparing with other excellent No.9 players who have performed well in England, it must be recognized that Haaland's goals are crucial for the club to win the highest honor, not just the Golden Boot. Haaland has helped City win two Premier League titles, a Champions League and an FA Cup.

This is important because in many cases a team may not win a trophy even with a great number 9 player. For example, Gary Lineker scored 40 goals for Everton in the 1985-86 season, but ultimately failed to win any trophies. Clive Allen, Kane and Andy Cole have had similar experiences.

When a center dominates the team's goal statistics, it often results in individual honors being higher than team honors, and trophies are usually won when the team has more scoring points.

Greaves has never won the English League Championship. Ironically, his best season at Chelsea was in 1960-61, when he scored 41 goals at Stamford Bridge while his future club Tottenham won the League and FA Cup double.

Kane also never won a major trophy at his old club Tottenham, despite his outstanding and consistent performances.

Shearer helped Blackburn win the Premier League title in 1995, but failed to replicate this feat at Newcastle United. The Premier League championship trophy became his only major honor.

Lineker, Shearer and Kane have been the league's top scorers a total of 9 times, but they have only won one major trophy in these seasons.

That's why legends like Henry and Ian Rush carry more weight with their goalscoring records as part of great teams, even though Henry's attacking style was different to the others.

Haaland has already joined the ranks of Rush and Henry with his number of collective and individual honours, and his trophy count will surely continue to grow.

What is truly frightening is that Haaland still has more potential to be tapped. His style of play appears to have been compromised since joining Manchester City. While at Dortmund, Haaland excelled against defenders, often using speed and power to overwhelm his opponents before finishing with the finishing touch. He displayed these skills against Brentford earlier this season.

With City preferring a delicate passing style, Haaland's role is more to provide finishing in the penalty area, rather than relying on his ability as a traditional strong center forward, which may be more prominent on weaker teams.

There are many more dimensions to Haaland that he has yet to show in his first three seasons at Manchester City.

Carragher said that he has always been curious about whether Haaland himself has the desire to show more talents. This season may provide the answer, as Haaland looks more like a complete goalscorer than ever before, constantly improving on the high level he already has.

Manchester City can completely advertise the game tickets as "As long as Haaland plays, he will score."

Whenever Haaland faces the goalkeeper one-on-one, he will almost certainly celebrate a goal. You rarely see Haaland blindly shoot from unreasonable angles.

The only area where Haaland needs to improve is his performance against strong teams, especially in the Champions League.. Haaland scored two goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout round last season, and he needs to score more key goals against top teams to receive more praise.

In the season when Manchester City won the Triple Crown, Haaland was second only to Messi in the Ballon d'Or selection. If he was a member of Real Madrid and scored 52 goals in the Champions League winning season, the club might boycott the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

All signs so far indicate that Haaland is expected to surpass these legends, and Dixie Dean's record of 60 goals in a single season will also be threatened.

In addition, Haaland may also participate in a major international event for the first time, and the Norwegian team is about to qualify for the World Cup. In the United States, Norway will be a formidable team because they have Haaland up front.

Haaland may be having one of the most extraordinary individual seasons in club and country history.

Guardiola once called Tottenham "Harry Kane's team." If City win the title this season, he may realize that this team will be known as "Erling Haaland's team".