Jamie Carragher has admitted that he wishes Jurrien Timber plays for Liverpool rather than Arsenal.
Timber joined the Gunners in the summer of 2023, but suffered a season-ending injury just minutes into his debut. This has been his first full campaign in the Premier League and the Dutchman has quickly become a key player for Mikel Arteta's side.
The 23-year-old has made 34 appearances in all competitions, helping Arsenal reach the last 16 of the Champions League and emerge as Liverpool's closest challengers in the title race. The Reds have been flying this season and sit eight points clear of Arteta's men.
But Carragher believes that gap should be larger, with Arne Slot's side having been held to draws by Everton and Aston Villa. The pundit insisted that those draws could have been wins, had Liverpool had a player in the mould of Timber.
Liverpool are the more balanced line-up. There are a few causes of concern more recently, however. It is hard to imagine Liverpool failing to score against City this weekend. Equally, on current form you would not bet on them keeping a clean sheet," he told The Telegraph.
"Without wishing to sound overly critical, Liverpool should have beaten Everton and Aston Villa. The goals they conceded were preventable. Whoever falls short this season will be asking themselves if they could have done a little more in the summer and January transfer windows.
For Liverpool, I have been banging the drum about the need for defensive reinforcement and wish they had a full-back like Jurrien Timber. The recent injuries to Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley leave Slot short of cover."