Jamie Carragher Brands Mikel Arteta ‘Modern-Day Sir Alex Ferguson’

Jamie Carragher has branded Mikel Arteta the “Sir Alex Ferguson” of the modern Premier League after the Arsenal manager strongly criticised the penalty awarded against his side in their 2-0 win over Sunderland.

Arsenal maintained their perfect start to the season with a hard-fought win on Saturday night, but Arteta remained unhappy with referee John Brooks’ decision to award Sunderland a second-half penalty. Brooks pointed to the spot after Dan Ballard went down following contact with Ezri Konsa. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya then saved Enzo Le Fee’s effort, turning the ball onto the left post.

Despite the penalty being missed, Arteta described the decision as “not acceptable” and repeatedly returned to the incident during his post-match press conference.

Carragher believes Arteta’s reaction mirrors the approach Ferguson adopted during his long spell in charge of Manchester United, when the Scot regularly challenged refereeing decisions involving his team.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “This was Mikel Arteta becoming the Alex Ferguson of the Premier League right now. He’s the ‘Don’ at the moment and the Premier League champion. There are a lot of new managers about; he’s been in his role for six or seven years, and he feels he is in a position of power to say it wasn’t a penalty, and I don’t think it was a penalty.”

Carragher added: “But it will be interesting to see how long it takes for another referee to give a penalty against Arsenal in a similar situation.” He also said Arteta was determined to keep the incident at the centre of the discussion. “He was determined to get the narrative out that this won’t happen again to his club, but listen, that is management. We have seen it with Alex Ferguson, with Jose Mourinho.”

Former Luton Town and Wolves manager Rob Edwards agreed with Carragher’s assessment of Arteta’s approach. He said: “I think Jamie is right; he is putting himself in a position where he is looking after his team and football club, and people will listen to a Premier League-winning manager. They will listen, as he is a powerful voice there.”