‘Very poor’ – Jamie Carragher criticises Arsenal star Aaron Ramsdale with Erling Haaland ‘unplayable’ in Man City victory

Ramsdale made some key saves but Carragher felt he was at fault early on (Picture: Getty)

Jamie Carragher has criticised Aaron Ramsdale for his role in Manchester City’s opener against Arsenal in Wednesday’s Premier League title showdown.

City took a major step towards defending their title with a 4-1 win over the Gunners at the Etihad with Kevin de Bruyne scoring twice and Erling Haaland and John Stones also on the score sheet for the hosts.

The victory reduces Arsenal’s lead at the top to just two points with City having two games in hand in the season run-in.

City wasted little time putting the Gunners to the sword, with Haaland freeing de Bruyne who fired home from the edge of the box.

The Belgian drove at the Arsenal backline, cutting out onto his left foot and while it was a precise finish, former Liverpool defender Carragher labelled the Ramsdale’s efforts ‘very poor’.

Long balls from City troubled Arsenal throughout the evening, winning every second ball with Haaland dropping deeper to allow de Bruyne to torment Arsenal.

The Norway international took his tally for the season to an incredible 49 goals after getting on the score sheet late and while it wasn’t his most lethal night in front of goal, Carragher believes it was one of the striker’s best performances in a City shirt.

‘Pep talking after the game about using Haaland with more direct passes, he was unplayable tonight when getting the ball early,’ Carragher added.

‘The CBs for Arsenal were not great, but very few defenders can cope with him physically. I think that was one of Haaland’s best game for Man City.’

City’s title fight is now in their own hands with hopes of a treble growing every day having reached the FA Cup final and Champions League semi-finals.

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‘I think it’s a big game. It’s always important to win this game,’ De Bruyne told BBC Sport post-match.

‘A lot of people will say about the title but in our mind we had to perform well and we did. We still have seven games to play so there’s a lot going on.

‘We are in the end part of the season so we know every game is must win. If we lost today it would be very hard. We played really well.’

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