Former Liverpool and England international Jamie Carragher has blasted Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for not signing West Brom centre-back Jonny Evans during the January transfer window.
The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for the former Man United defender last month. Arsenal’s defensive weaknesses were again badly exposed during their recent 1-0 defeat to Spurs in the North London Derby, prompting Carragher to say on Sky Sports MNF:
“I look at Arsene Wenger saying that he couldn’t afford Jonny Evans, but he can afford £50million strikers.
“It’s not about affording, he just doesn’t see it.
“I don’t think he has ever spent big on a defender. Why didn’t he go for Virgil van Dijk? Liverpool have the same problems, but at least [Jurgen] Klopp is trying to fix it with Van Dijk.”
Arsenal were abysmal for large parts of their defeat against their bitter rivals Spurs at Wembley last weekend, and had it not been for the superb performance of their goalkeeper Petr Cech the scoreline could easily have been a lot more embarrassing for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Carragher also slammed The Gunners for what he perceives as their ”cowardly,” away performances over the last couple of seasons.
This latest defeat to a top-six rival means Wenger’s side are now in sixth position in the Premier League table, eight points away from the top four with just 12 games remaining.