Liverpool have not appealed referee Martin Atkinson's decision to dismiss Cole in first-half injury time, meaning the England international, the most high-profile of manager Roy Hodgson's summer recruits, will be absent for the games with Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United.
But while Cole now has more than a month to regret his rush of blood to the head before he can feature again in the Premier League, Carragher feels a single moment of madness should not be allowed to detract from the effect the 28 year-old has had not just on Anfield but on all of Liverpool since moving to Merseyside on a free transfer.
"Joe has lifted the whole city," Carragher said. "It is not just on the pitch or in the dressing room, it is the entire place. He is staying right in the centre of town and people are wishing him well all the time, so he is starting to realise just how big this club is.
"He is like a god in the city already and he has only played a game and a half. He is going to be a major asset for us. He has already got the fans onside and he was talking before about how big a game this was for him, which is quite a statement given the games he's played for England in World Cups and for Chelsea."
It is not just the Liverpool defender who approves of Cole's arrival. Carragher's son, James, attended Sunday's 1-1 draw in a shirt bearing the midfielder's name, despite his family ties.
"You do not want a defender on the back of your shirt," joked Carragher Snr. "He normally has Gerrard or now Cole. He did have [Milan] Jovanovic, but he had his number changed, so we had to go back to the shop and get the shirt altered." Both Cole and the Serb – who swapped from 10 to 14 to accommodate the England player – have contributed to a tangible change of mood at Anfield.
Where last season all was despair and dejection, a resilient point against Arsène Wenger's side is evidence that the disappointment of last season is slowly ebbing away. Belief is returning.
"We are Liverpool," Carragher said. "We should not be getting carried away because we drew at home with Arsenal. People talk about last season but you should not forget that the year before with the same team we finished second. We were never as bad as seventh last year. We are a lot better than that.
"Ever since I have been here, we have never been thought of as the best team in the country. We have always had question marks against us and over the last decade or so, we have quite enjoyed that chance to prove people wrong.
"You look at Arsenal, who challenged for the title last year, Manchester United, Chelsea, and the Manchester City situation, so I can understand why people say they do not fancy us to get in the top four, but we believe we can."
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