Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha is the latest player to fall into Jamie Carragher’s bad books.
Carragher has shared some strong opinions about Arsenal this season on Sky Sports, but the Gunners aren’t the only club who have come under attack.
After the action on matchday ten, the pundit took a moment to share his dissatisfaction about Palhinha, who signed for Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window.
Though Arsenal and Tottenham are the fiercest rivals, those at the Emirates might have something to say about Carragher’s review of the midfielder.
Arsenal won’t agree with Jamie Carragher’s scathing review of Tottenham’s Joao Palhinha
Spurs’ defeat to Chelsea turned ugly as at full time, Thomas Frank was ignored by two of his players.
The full-time scenes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were to be expected, as the Lilywhites were terrible against Chelsea, with Palhinha being one of the worst on the pitch.
Carragher didn’t hold back when analysing the midfielder’s performance on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, claiming that the former Fulham man is incapable of playing at this level.
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“He is not capable, I don’t think, of doing this,” Carragher says, before his criticism hit a new level.
“There’s a reason why teams in the Premier League didn’t buy him from Fulham and there’s a reason why Bayern Munich bought him and didn’t play him.”
It was staggeringly harsh criticism that even Arsenal would argue, as the Gunners wanted to sign Palhinha in the summer.
Arsenal wouldn’t agree with Carragher’s claims, as Andrea Berta had eyed the Portugal international before a deal for Christian Norgaard was agreed.
Though Arsenal were urged not to sign Palhinha, the thought was there, and the club clearly saw his quality, emphasising the inaccuracy of Carragher’s criticism.
Mikel Arteta is glad Arsenal signed Christian Norgaard
A deal for Palhinha couldn’t be struck, which led the 30-year-old to N17 and opened the door for Norgaard to sign for Arsenal.
Norgaard’s transfer to Arsenal has been celebrated, as the Gunners acquired a player with significant Premier League experience, having captained Brentford.
It’s fair to say that Mikel Arteta hasn’t looked back since signing the Dane instead of Palhinha, as the Arsenal manager praised Norgaard in a press conference.
“Exceptional,” Arteta said of Norgaard.
“I knew very clearly the role that he was going to have, exactly what he is doing.”
The way things have turned out has worked just fine for Arteta, but for Frank, the pathway to a balanced midfield is currently blocked.