Jamie Carragher makes point about Mikel Arteta after watching Chelsea lose again last night

By Sam Preston

Jamie Carragher has claimed that Chelsea manager Graham Potter is wrong to compare himself to Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta.

The Blues lost again last night, going down 2-1 against local rivals Fulham on a night where new-boy Joao Felix got a straight red card on his debut.

In the Telegraph, Carragher referenced Potter calling on the example of Arteta coming good at Arsenal as a reason he should be given patience.

But he says Arteta showed early signs of progress, unlike Potter, in the same way that Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp also did.

Carragher does not like comparisons between Potter and Arteta

He wrote: “It is understandable when a coach pleads for time, but attempts to compare Potter’s early work with that of Guardiola at City, Arteta at Arsenal and Klopp at Liverpool are wrong. There are already clear differences. Klopp and Arteta enjoyed big football moments which earned them instant credit.

“Arteta beat Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, won the FA Cup and then the Community Shield months after his appointment. Despite the inevitable pressure, the signs were there for those analysing closely enough. There was never a sense of the Arsenal board having blind faith in Arteta.

“It was a case of rebuilding to ensure consistency followed. For any comparison with Arteta to be credible – whether applied to Potter or anyone who decides to name drop their early work in England in a future press conference – we must see the same levels against high calibre sides.

“But comparing Chelsea’s situation with Arsenal’s in December 2019 also ignores that while the Roman Abramovich era might be over at Stamford Bridge, the policy of being one of the Premier League’s biggest spenders is not.”

Carragher also said the same of Klopp at his beloved Liverpool, pointing to the German’s early impact despite not spending as much as Chelsea are now.

Potter’s Brighton side had a clear footballing identity, but we have not seen anywhere near enough of that so far from a Chelsea perspective.

That FA Cup bought Arteta time and now they are in contention for the biggest domestic prize going, having outclassed Chelsea on their own patch before the World Cup.