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Jamie Carragher has delivered his verdict on Arsenal and their Premier League title challenge after their dramatic 2-1 loss at Aston Villa.

Arsenal suffer first defeat in 18 games as five-point lead slips

Arsenal’s agonising defeat at Villa has ended the Gunners’ 18-game unbeaten streak whilst threatening their title aspirations, with Man City’s subsequent 3-0 dismantling of Sunderland now reducing the gap to just two points.

Emiliano Buendia’s 95th minute winner highlighted familiar weaknesses that have plagued previous title challenges.

Mikel Arteta’s makeshift defence, deprived of William Saliba and Gabriel through injury, conceded soft goals that championship-winning teams simply cannot afford.

Matty Cash’s thunderous opener exploited Eberechi Eze’s defensive negligence, whilst Buendia’s late intervention punished Arsenal’s inability to clear.

Leandro Trossard’s second-half equaliser briefly sparked hope of a hard-fought victory in the Midlands, yet Arsenal ultimately succumbed to Villa’s relentless pressure.

Arteta a big fan: Arsenal "could make a move" for "world-class" £65m forward

The Gunners are looking to bolster their attacking options.

By
Dominic Lund

4 days ago

While Arsenal have only lost twice this campaign, Arteta will be hoping Saturday’s defeat doesn’t sap his squad’s confidence given the manner of their slip up.

Cristhian Mosquera’s ankle injury compounds their current defensive crisis, forcing 16-year-old Marli Salmon onto the bench against Villa.

Man City ruthlessly capitalised on Arsenal’s hiccup, delivering their arguable most complete performance this season against an in-form Sunderland side.

Rúben Dias opened the scoring with a spectacular 25-yard thunderbolt before Josko Gvardiol doubled the advantage through a towering header from Phil Foden’s corner.

Foden completed the scoring after 65 minutes, converting Rayan Cherki’s outrageous rabona cross for a serious highlight reel moment.

Pep Guardiola praised it as potentially City’s finest 95-minute display this season, emphasising how it is consistency rather than individual results that determines success.

The title race has dramatically intensified, with Aston Villa themselves now genuine contenders sitting third, merely three points behind Arsenal following seven consecutive wins in all competitions.

Make no mistake, it is all to play for, and Carragher is convinced that Arsenal have a ‘huge problem’ in the form of Foden.

Jamie Carragher says Phil Foden is a 'huge problem' for Arsenal

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher insists that the England international, alongside Erling Haaland, poses a massive threat to Arsenal’s quest to win a first Premier League title in 22 years.

After a difficult 2024/2025, Arsenal have every right to be concerned, as Foden is now back to his imperious best.

Foden has emerged as City’s most potent attacking threat bar Haaland during their resurgent title challenge, scoring nine goals across all competitions so far this term.

The 25-year-old has also notched six Premier League goals in thirteen appearances, averaging 0.51 goals per ninety minutes whilst contributing two assists.

His recent purple patch has been particularly devastating, with five goals scored in his last three league games. His goal involvement rate of 0.69 per ninety minutes highlights his constant influence in the final third, with Guardiola praising his exceptional qualities following Saturday’s performance.

Foden already surpassed his career milestone of 100 City goals during the summer’s Club World Cup, cementing his status amongst the club’s elite scorers.

His personal renaissance couldn’t have come at a worse time for Arsenal, but luckily for Arteta, the title is still theirs to lose.

Gabriel Jesus will reportedly not be registered in Arsenal's Champions League squad for the league phase of the competition as Cristhian Mosquera's injury is worse than originally feared. The Brazilian is coming back from a serious knee injury that has kept him out since the start of the year but just as he nears a first-team return, it seems the forward has been dealt a new blow.

• Long road to recovery for Jesus

  The former Manchester City man sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee back in January and he has not played for Mikel Arteta's team since. The 28-year-old featured in a behind-closed-doors match late last month, prompting manager Mikel Arteta to deliver an optimistic view on his condition.

  "Very good. He's doing everything with the team at the moment for the last almost two weeks. We're going to give him some exposure as well internally with some games, so he gets that fitness. But he looks really good in training, and he's going to be a big addition to the team," he said.

  Then, last week, he played for the Gunners' under-21s as he steps up his comeback. It is not yet certain when he will play for Arsenal's first team again but it is likely to be in the coming weeks. However, it appears he won't be involved with their Champions League campaign for the time being.

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  Mosquera's injury setback

  During Arsenal's 2-0 win over Brentford last week, centre-back Mosquera picked up an ankle injury, meaning he joins fellow defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba on the sidelines. 

  After that game, Arteta said on the summer signing: "He’s going to be out for weeks. Unfortunately, it’s much more than what we expected, the way he was feeling. So, he’s going to be out for weeks."

  He was absent for Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, with right-back Jurrien Timber partnering Piero Hincapie at the heart of the Gunners' defence. Now, according to Football London journalist Tom Canton, Mosquera's injury is worse than first hoped. As a result, Jesus will not be registered for the league phase of the Champions League but he could feature if they make it to the knockout rounds. Canton previously noted that a UEFA rule change allowed clubs to submit a temporary replacement of an outfield player who is ruled out for an extended period of time with a long-term injury or illness, but this is only applicable up until the sixth matchday, which was Arsenal's trip to Club Brugge on Wednesday. But it appears Arsenal have opted against registering Jesus for this upcoming fixture.

• Arsenal setbacks continue

  On top of Arsenal's mounting injury list, particularly in defence, Arteta's side suffered an agonising stoppage-time loss to Villa on Saturday. Naturally, the Spaniard admitted this defeat was hard to take.

  He told BBC Match of the Day: "Very painful, especially after all the effort in the match. It was an open game. Congratulations to Aston Villa, they are a really good side. We conceded a big chance in the first half with Matty Cash's goal. We had some dominance in the second half. I had the feeling we were going to win the game, so to lose it in the manner we did is painful. Eighteen games unbeaten, you lose a game and that's what it is – this is football. It is what it is. We had a big chance when Declan [Rice] put the ball across for Noni [Madueke], they then won a throw-in at the other end and got the goal. That's football and the quality of this league."

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  What comes next for Arsenal?

  The north London team, who are top of the table in Europe's elite competition, face Club Brugge, Inter Milan and Kairat in their remaining Champions League group phase games. Sandwiched in between those fixtures are Premier League matches against Wolves, Everton, Crystal Palace, Brighton, Villa, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

  Ahead of the next contest, Arteta added: "The level of consistency the boys have shown in this period is incredible, so I only have thoughts to think we can do it again."

Burger walked off the field in the first innings after bowling 6.1 overs and de Zorzi pulled up in the dying moments of the chase to retire hurt for 17

Firdose Moonda03-Dec-2025South Africa left-arm seamer Nandre Burger has suffered a hamstring injury that curtailed his participation in the second ODI against India in Raipur and could impact the rest of his season.South Africa suffered another injury scare when Tony de Zorzi pulled up towards the end of their chase and retired hurt for 17 after the 45th over.”It didn’t look too good, to be honest – Nandre not being able to finish his overs and Tony also walking off,” captain Temba Bavuma said at the presentation. “If need be, we do have other guys waiting in the wings come Saturday.”Related

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Burger had started his seventh over when he lost his run-up twice and appeared to struggle to land on his right leg. He held onto his right knee before walking off the field. Aiden Markram delivered the next five balls to complete the over.ESPNcricinfo understands that Burger was assessed and is still experiencing discomfort in his right hamstring. He will continue to be monitored by South Africa’s medical staff. In the immediate term, it affected South Africa in this match, where Markram bowled 5.5 overs in total, and will impact team selection for the third ODI on Saturday. Burger is not part of the T20I squad, where Anrich Nortje will make his return, and he may be called on earlier if South Africa feel they need extra pace. They are already without Kagiso Rabada, who has a rib niggle, and Gerald Coetzee, who was not picked for this tour.Later in the match, South Africa suffered a second injury blow when de Zorzi pulled up as he completed a second run. De Zorzi was on 17 off 11 balls when Corbin Bosch called him through and though he reached the non-striker’s end safely, de Zorzi hobbled the last third of the way. He received treatment on field and decided to continue. But after Bosch hit the next ball for four and de Zorzi had to hop on one leg, he left the field, with South Africa 27 away from victory after 45 overs. De Zorzi walked off unaided, but very gingerly, suggesting the injury is serious. He has an SA20 deal with Durban’s Super Giants.Burger has a long history of injuries, including a lower-back stress fracture which kept him out of the game from October 2024 until September this year. He missed last year’s SA20 but was re-signed by the same team, Joburg Super Kings for this year’s edition for R6.3 million, and they will be sweating on his availability. The tournament begins on Boxing Day, in just over three weeks’ time.

He had given signs of ability with the bat in the past, but the back-to-back knocks against India and UAE at the Asia Cup signals a transformation of sorts for Shaheen Afridi

Shashank Kishore18-Sep-2025Shaheen Shah Afridi always had the batting chops. Until recently, they appeared only in flashes, like at the PSL 2023 final.That night in Lahore, Afridi wasn’t even padded up when Sikandar Raza was dismissed in the 15th over. Yet, he somehow stopped David Wiese from crossing over the boundary rope and beat him to the crease at No. 7 to unleash one of the most electrifying death-over onslaughts in recent memory.Every one of his 44 runs, off just 15 balls, proved crucial as Lahore Qalandars pulled off a one-run thriller in what was one of the all-time great T20 finals.Related

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On Wednesday at the Asia Cup, the stakes were just as high. Pakistan were in knockout territory after Sunday’s seven-wicket drubbing at the hands of India. Afridi himself contributed a T20I best – an unbeaten 16-ball 33 – to revive a faltering innings, and give the bowlers something to defend. The knock barely got its due, though, amid India’s clinical chase and the handshakes-that-weren’t chaos that followed.But it’s unlikely to have escaped coach Mike Hesson. Because, all through that brief innings, there were enough signs that Afridi’s hitting was a weapon Pakistan could increasingly rely on.Sure, there was an element of pre-meditation to his game, but his clean swing, tact in targeting the shorter boundary, and holding his shape to deliveries dug in, especially in the death overs by Hardik Pandya, were all attributes of someone who has spent considerable time working on his craft.If Sunday’s knock was a glimpse of his ability, Wednesday’s against UAE was a reinforcement of Afridi’s batting chops under pressure. With so much happening around the team, there’s no telling what a loss to a lower-ranked, unfancied opponent could have done to the team. And at 110 for 7, with 19 balls still left in the innings, that threat was real.ESPNcricinfo LtdAfridi had seen first-hand the effects a below-par target to defend in the face of dew can have for bowlers, when Abhishek Sharma took all of two deliveries against him to announce himself. UAE openers Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu may not be Abhishek, but in a knockout game, all it takes is one innings to trigger a wave of confidence.It’s likely Afridi wasn’t thinking of a score in mind as much as he was just reacting to what was thrown at him. He ended up biffing 29 off 14 balls, much of it constructed during the course of a telling 20th over, where he turned into the other Afridi, Shahid. The result was two sixes and a four in an 18-run over that lifted Pakistan to 146, when they looked like finishing with 125.If the first six was all about backing away and swinging cleanly to a yorker that went wrong, the second was pure wrist-work mastery as he flicked the ball up and over deep-backward square-leg.The awareness of the bowler wanting to shorten his length as a consequence of being picked away with two full deliveries helped Afridi pocket a boundary as he got inside the line to help it along behind square. As Afridi walked off, he knew, and Pakistan knew, they may have just given themselves enough to defend.2:18

Wasim Jaffer: ‘Pakistan’s batting not convincing at all’

Before the Asia Cup, Afridi had batted 30 times in T20Is for a modest return of 188 runs. Two games into the tournament, he has taken that tally to 250 in 32 innings.The foundations of his new-found batting verve was established at the PSL. From PSL 2018 until the end of PSL 2022, Afridi had hit just two sixes, with a highest of 12. In the last three editions, he has hit 24 sixes – further proof of his improved hitting abilities.Ironically, it may have been a knee injury in 2022 – one that caused much uproar because of the way his rehab was managed – that may have been the turning point. The lengthy rehab phase, where he couldn’t bowl much, allowed him to bat more than he had ever done. And the gains are increasingly evident.It feels strange to talk of Afridi and not talk of his bowling impact or the late banana inswing of the kind that takes Wasim Akram back to his heyday. But it’s actually his batting, despite that wicket of Waseem with some of that late tail, albeit off an inside edge, that has single-handedly kept Pakistan alive in the Asia Cup.While the new-found dimension lends much depth to a brittle batting line-up, Pakistan will do well to ensure Afridi doesn’t end up carrying more than he can manage amid soaring expectation that will now invariably accompany him to the crease every single time.