Carragher says Arsenal’s back four is nearing the Adams era, Neville calls Anfield win a “defensive masterclass”

Arsenal’s first win at Anfield since 2012 produced an unusually warm round of praise from two men who spend most of their Monday nights arguing. Jamie Carragher, a Liverpool legend, said Arsenal’s back four is edging towards a comparison with the great Arsenal defences of the past, while Gary Neville called the display a “defensive masterclass”.

Carragher: close to the Adams era

Kai Havertz’s first-half goal was enough for a 1-0 win in which, according to Sky Sports, Liverpool failed to land an accurate shot at home for the first time on record. Carragher said that was striking given Liverpool’s spending on attack. “To come to Anfield and be put under that much pressure and not have a shot on target from the opposition, or Liverpool not get a big chance given the money they have spent on their attack, is outstanding,” he said.

He then went further than most would from the Liverpool side of the fence. “When you think about Arsenal winning titles, especially in ’89 and ’91 with Tony Adams and that famous back four, I think we’re getting close to putting this back four in that conversation.”

Neville: a Mourinho-style side

Neville called it a “defensive masterclass” and likened Arsenal’s nous to a side styled on Jose Mourinho’s compactness. The detail supports him: Arsenal won 18 fouls, with Jurrien Timber, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke drawing three each, a way of stifling Liverpool’s momentum, and Ezri Konsa won all eight duels he contested.

The pattern is not new. Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have won 33 league games by a 1-0 scoreline, more than any other side, and have won 81 per cent of league games in which they scored first. Arteta described the defending as “remarkable” and said he loved “when there is something that we haven’t done for many years”.

Rice at the centre of it

Carragher reserved his strongest words for Declan Rice, who provided the assist for Havertz. “He’s one of the best midfield players Arsenal have ever had,” he said. “He’s right up there with the best of them. He’s the best midfield player in the Premier League by a long way. It’s not even a debate.”

Rice’s own explanation was about the group. “That defensive line, the way we stick together, that togetherness we have, is undefeated,” he said.

Is the praise too generous?

There is a fair counter-view, and it has been made elsewhere on Pundit Feed. Jonathan Wilson has questioned Arsenal’s approach away from the pitch, and Ashley Williams called the race “a one-horse race” after the same game, a view others will find premature nine games in. Comparing a back four to the 1989 and 1991 champions is also, by definition, a verdict that needs a season of evidence.

That is what makes Carragher’s line interesting. He is not claiming Arsenal have won anything; he is saying that, on this evidence, the conversation about their defence has started. Coming from the pundit who watched Liverpool be shut out at home, it carries weight.