The Gunners legend was hugely impressed with how they took the game to Tottenham in the north London derby
Thierry Henry feels Arsenal have a team capable of beating anyone in the Premier League, but believes the Gunners must find consistency if they are to become contenders for honours.
The Gunners beat north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday to put a spring in the step of their fans, but they still find themselves behind Spurs in the table.
Henry feels Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has the club trending in the right direction, but wants to see consistency brought to their play.
What was said?
Henry was asked to appraise his former club during an appearance on Sky Sports, and believes Arteta secured some breathing space by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final last season.
“I think Mikel bought himself some time by winning the FA Cup last year,” Henry said. “The way they won it, and the team they won against, bought him some time with the fans and with the club because you have something to show at the end of the season.
“What is lacking now is consistency. I sometimes watch the first halves of Arsenal and it seems like they don’t believe they can win.
“Then when they are in a situation when they need to come back and have a go, it looks like ‘wow, why didn’t they start like that?’
“You could see [on Sunday] they wanted to win the game. Tottenham made it a tiny bit easier for them on the day.
“But I can see progress and now Mikel needs to move on to consistency.”
‘They can beat any team in the league’
Henry was impressed with how Arteta set his side up to take the game to Tottenham on Sunday.
“I think Mikel has a good squad, you saw it yesterday,” Henry said.
“I like the way he set up the team. If you look at the positions of the three strikers, he played almost 2-3-5 on the ball.
“People were going forward; the intensity was there, the desire to win the game was there. When they play like that on the front foot and go forward, they can beat any team in the league.”
Room for improvement despite Spurs win
While Henry feels progress has been made, he offered up a sobering point for Arsenal fans.
He added: “I think the squad is good. Can it be better? Yes. Was there progress? Yes.
“[But] the table does not lie. They are still behind Tottenham. They are still behind a lot of teams.
“It is a process. Hopefully it will explode soon, but consistency has to happen quickly.”
Be the first to comment