Jamie Carragher: Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba have ‘taken Arsenal to another level’

Jamie Carragher has pinpointed Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba as the men that have turned Arsenal’s fortunes around.

Arsenal maintained their place at the top of the Premier League, after Saturday’s 3-1 north London derby victory over Tottenham.

Jesus has made an immediate impact since his summer arrival from Manchester City, while Saliba has impressed after spending much of the last three seasons out on loan in Ligue 1.

Jesus scored in the 3-1 victory over Tottenham and has made a huge impact since his arrival

Carragher has been impressed by Arsenal’s progress and believes much of their success so far this season has come from Jesus and Saliba. 

He said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football: ‘A lot of people thought that this season, maybe Spurs would be in the position that Arsenal are in now.

‘I’ve seen Spurs got a bit of criticism, but in terms of how Conte plays – they played like a Conte team. If they’d have got the final pass right on three or four occasions, they should have gone in at half-time in front.

‘But I take nothing away from Arsenal, I’ve been so impressed with them at the start of the season – the pace they play at, the football they play.

‘And the two signings…well not signings but Saliba and Jesus have come in and completely taken this team to another level.’

Saliba has also impressed after returning following a number of seasons on loan in Ligue 1

Arsenal got revenge on Spurs after their 3-0 defeat to their rivals in May – a result which proved costly as Mikel Arteta’s side missed out on Champions League football.

With 21 points out of a possible 24 gained this season, the Gunners look strong contenders to qualify for Europe’s top competition next campaign – as well as possibly mounting a shock title challenge.

When speaking about Jesus – who has scored five league goals so far this season – after the match, Arteta said: ‘It’s his winning mentality, the way he trains every day it brings confidence to the team and he has taken us to a different level.’

Carragher reiterated Arteta’s comments that Jesus (right) has taken Arsenal to a different level

On the result, he said: ‘They were phenomenal. We went from it and we created great energy in the stadium and deserved to win the game.

‘With our way of playing we can attack in different ways.

‘They [Tottenham] don’t need much and you have the feeling that they can create. You have to live with that.

‘But we didn’t have that in the back of our mind, we were free, courageous and brave and this is what we demand from the players.

‘It gives us a lot of encouragement and confidence to believe that we can play at this level.’

It was reported by Sportsmail on Monday meanwhile, that Arsenal have opened up contract talks with Saliba.