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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Alex Milne

Jamie Carragher explains why Arsenal prioritised attacking transfers over defenders

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher thinks Arsenal have bolstered their attack over their defence this summer due to a need to score more goals away from home.

The Gunners broke their transfer record to sign winger Nicolas Pepe for £72m from Lille during the transfer window, and also brought in another winger in Gabriel Martinelli and central midfielder Dani Ceballos.

Defensively, on the other hand, they only signed left-back Kieran Tierney and centre-back David Luiz, with William Saliba also confirmed but immediately sent back on loan to Saint-Etienne.

Some have questioned whether Arsenal should have done more to strengthen their defence, but speaking to Stan Collymore on his The Last Word podcast Carragher said they will be focused on finding the net more on the road following their awful record last season in which they won just seven games in the Premier League.

Arsenal got off to a good start to the season by beating Newcastle 1-0 (REUTERS)

"A lot of people were saying why are Arsenal spending £70m on Pepe when they needed a centre back?" Carragher said.

"The feeling at Arsenal was that they have a great home record and their away record is awful. They’re probably more thinking they need to score more goals away from home and that there’s not much more they can do defensively. I don't know how many great defenders are out there."

Carragher also praised manager Unai Emery for his impact at the club, and has tipped the Gunners to finish in the top four this season for the first time since the 2015-2016 campaign.

Jamie Carragher is a big fan of Arsenal boss Unai Emery (Action Images via Reuters)

"I think they have done well," he added. "Yes, they are top heavy but they'll be exciting to watch.

"I have never really had Unai Emery down as that sort of manager. He reminds me a bit of Rafa Benitez in that he’s very studious and very focused. I think they’ll get top four."

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