“They’re going to win Champions League this season and that’s because they’ve got a very good player who understands Champions League”: Pep Gaurdiorla amazed by Arsenal’s star performance vs PSG yesterday
Some would think that Arsenal produced a statement win in the Champions League on Tuesday night when they saw off Paris Saint-Germain.
But Thierry Henry wasn’t exactly in that boat, even though Arsenal deserved the win and were comfortable for large parts of the match.
Mikel Arteta’s side recorded a goalless draw in Italy against Atalanta for their opening Champions League match – David Raya made an incredible double save from a penalty.
And now, the Premier League title hopefuls have their first win in Europe on the board, two clean sheets and everything looking rosy.
Arsenal’s tactical approach, mainly in away matches, has been a huge talking point this season and it has sparked a fair few debates.
From how ten-man Arsenal decided to play against Manchester City to how defensive they seem to be on the road when they face that big test.
On one hand, Mikel Arteta will point towards the fact that his team had the best defence in the Premier League last season (only 29 goals conceded).
And, once again, they are going down the path of perhaps producing the best defence in England’s top-flight.
But a certain legendary striker wants to see a change and he feels Arsenal’s away trip to Milan to take on Inter could provide that.
Arsenal face Inter at the San Siro next month, including an away trip to Portugal to lock horns against Sporting Lisbon.
Henry stated that if Arsenal can ‘win strong’ against Inter, as they did against PSG, then he can start to be ‘loud’ as a Gooner in the Champions League, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (01/10/24 at 10:05 pm).
But, until then, he doesn’t think their victory against the champions of France on home soil should be deemed a ‘proper statement’ victory.
Thierry Henry urges Arsenal to improve away from home in the Champions League
“The team (PSG) is well balanced, they had the ball and a lot of possession, that’s about it,” said Henry. “You don’t have that match winner that you had in the past – but again, you left Dembele at home for a reason we have to respect, but he would have helped tonight for sure.
“It’s normal right now that Arsenal beat Paris Saint-Germain at home. I want to win like that away from home against Paris Saint-Germain or whoever is going to come your way.
“Go at Inter and win strong. Be strong defensively. None of them, no shot on target against Porto. I want that type of win away from home, then I can talk about and be loud as an Arsenal fan by saying ‘hey, we can win in Europe’. I didn’t win with Arsenal in Europe, don’t get me wrong. But I am saying to you, a proper statement win, you do that away from home.”
