Pundits may not always get it right but Jamie Carragher can be proud of his call on the Arsenal against Wolves clash on Saturday.
Carragher predicted that Arsenal would go 2-0 up against Wolves and see the game out to claim three points and a clean sheet.
That is exactly what happened as Arsenal went ahead through Kai Havertz, who headed home Bukayo Saka’s cross.
The two linked up again in the second half as Saka fired home from a Havertz pass to go 2-0 up.
That is where the scoring stopped as Arsenal saw out a 2-0 victory, picking up yet another clean sheet in a fine victory as David Raya produced one remarkable save.
Declan Rice of Arsenal acknowledges the fans after the team's victory in the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC...
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Mikel Arteta praises ‘unbelievable’ Arsenal player
Arsenal will play better this season and will probably even play worse and win; this was just a decent performance to start the season.
Saka was in top form once again, showing no sign of being slowed down by his Euro 2024 commitments over the summer.
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England teammate Declan Rice may not have been quite so eye-catching but was still hailed by Mikel Arteta.
The Arsenal boss has told the club’s official website that Rice was ‘cramping’ a little and isn’t absolutely fully fit as his pre-season has been fairly short.
Arteta felt that Rice was ‘unbelievable’ against Wolves though, praising his midfielder for his efforts despite not being at the top of his game physically, claiming that he is ‘really trying’.
“He was cramping a bit. He hasn’t had the longest pre-season ever, but he’s really trying and he put in an unbelievable performance again today,” said Arteta.
Rice completed 26 passes for Arsenal against Wolves in what was a fairly quiet game for the Gunners engine room.
Martin Odegaard completed 28 passes and Thomas Partey finished with 33, so Rice’s relatively low tally was actually mirrored by his fellow midfielders.
Rice added one aerial duel, one clearance, two interceptions and one key pass to his performance against Wolves.
This wasn’t absolutely vintage Rice but he put in plenty of effort as Arsenal opened the season with three points.
Declan Rice needs some time
Rice put in a huge shift for England at Euro 2024 and it may take him a few weeks to really get up to speed.
Saka showed no real ill-effects of his busy summer with England but the Arsenal winger is truly special and perhaps shouldn’t be the standard Rice is held against.
Rice actually covered 85.7km during Euro 2024, the highest distance of any player in the tournament.
By comparison, Saka covered 69.9km, which ranked him 7th at Euro 2024 but still some way short of Rice.
After putting in that kind of effort for England, a somewhat slow start to the Premier League season would be understandable for Rice.
Arteta still loves what he is seeing from Rice but that real match sharpness may only arrive in the coming weeks.
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