‘Don’t embarrass me’ – Carragher reveals Arsenal PTSD after Haaland v Man Utd | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher says watching Erling Haaland tear Manchester United apart brought back bad memories from his own playing career.

Haaland scored his third hat-trick of the season at the Etihad on Sunday in the 6-3 win over United to take his Premier League tally to 14 in just eight games.

The £54m summer signing looks to be an unstoppable force in the English top flight and Carragher says he felt for Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez who were tasked with dealing with the 22-year-old.

Their plight reminded the Liverpool legend of being “embarrassed” by Thierry Henry in his side’s clashes with Arsenal and the change of mindset that came about as a result.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “We are talking about top international players. Raphael Varane is a World Cup winner. It took me back to being a player.

“Yes, it should have been so much better for United but I have sympathy. I put myself in their position where I was.

“For two years, there was only one player in my career who affected me mentally on a pitch. That was Thierry Henry.

“You play against great players, but you go into games thinking you can get the better of them. You might make mistakes and things might happen.

“But Thierry Henry, from 2002 to 2004, when I went to play against him I was only thinking about him and it affected my game.

“One of the most embarrassed I’ve been on a football pitch was the goal Liverpool conceded at Highbury [in 2004] where Thierry Henry goes on a run and I fall over and cower.

“I’m that embarrassed because it is not me, it’s not my way of thinking. It was the Thierry Henry affect.

“What he’s doing is, he’s making defenders not think ‘can I stop him playing well, can I stop him scoring’.

“No, defenders are going into games thinking ‘don’t embarrass me’. That’s what I used to feel against Thierry Henry.

“If he scored, or did okay, as long as he didn’t embarrass me. I will openly admit that.

“That is the effect, in the early stages of his Premier League career, he is already having on top Premier League defenders.”