Jamie Carragher makes Arsenal claim after Man City beat Man Utd

Arsenal may be ‘worried’ by Manchester City’s early-season form (Picture: Getty)

Jamie Carragher believes Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City may have Arsenal a little ‘worried’ with their 100 per cent start to the new Premier League season.

Arsenal landed an almighty psychological blow on title rivals City with a comprehensive 3-0 victory in last month’s one-sided Community Shield in Cardiff.

But Maresca has managed to steer City back on track after taking over the reins from the great Pep Guardiola in the summer, with the club riding a five-match winning streak in all competitions.

On Sunday afternoon, a ten-man City made it four wins from four in the top flight with victory in a controversial Manchester derby, after which United received an official apology for Erling Haaland’s wrongly awarded second-half strike.

The result ensured Maresca’s men reclaimed their place at the top of the table alongside reigning champions Arsenal, who had beaten Sunderland at the Stadium of Light 24 hours earlier.

City play host to Norwich in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday evening before returning to top-flight action at home to Sunderland three days later.

Arsenal, meanwhile, travel to Portman Road to take on Ipswich in the cup before switching their attentions back to Premier League matters away to Brighton.

Haaland’s controversial strike proved decisive at Old Trafford (Picture: Images/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

Maresca’s men sit level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table (Picture: Getty)

Asked if there may have been a ‘mentality shift’ at Arsenal following the club’s title triumph last term, Carragher told Sky Sports: ‘Maybe and they’ve maybe got the best squad now as well.

‘You look at Bruno Guimaraes coming off the bench and making that impact, they didn’t have that player last season.

‘Yeah, I think the psychological impact [of winning the title] will be huge for Arsenal.

‘They won’t have that worry they’ve had of getting across the line.

‘They know they can, they’ll feel they’re the best team and the best squad.

‘But I think what City did yesterday will be a little bit of a worry for Arsenal: “Oh, we know who our challenger is right now!”‘

Carragher believes City’s derby-day win at the weekend was a victory for the neutral Premier League observer as he fears Arsenal could run away with the title if given the chance.

‘Manchester City have had a more difficult start and it was almost good for the league. I know Manchester United fans won’t want to hear that,’ the former Liverpool and England defender added.

‘I think there will be a worry that as soon as Arsenal get some sort of a gap, whether that’s two, three, four points, that it’s going to be very difficult for anybody to claw them back.

‘So City are still in there with them and they’ve made a great start.’

City prevailed in the derby despite losing Foden to a red card (Picture: Matt West/Shutterstock)

After Sunday’s derby, Maresca’s applauded his players’ efforts and the ‘spirit’ they showed to emerge victorious following Phil Foden’s sending off midway through the first half.

‘The red card changed our plan a little bit but credit to the players because their effort, the spirit has been brilliant,’ the City boss told reporters at his post-match press conference.