Thierry Henry takes a brutal dig at Arsenal
Thierry Henry takes a brutal dig at Arsenal. Arsenal legend and former striker Thierry Henry has accused his former team of becoming too “predictable” amid a poor recent run of Premier League results that have been too reliant on set-pieces.
The Gunners were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Everton on Saturday, having also scored only two of their previous eight Premier League goals from open play. In a 2-0 win over Manchester United and a 1-1 draw with Fulham earlier in December, Arsenal could only score from corners.
A 3-0 Champions League victory against Monaco last week unfolded a little differently because the Ligue 1 side played into Arsenal’s hands by leaving spaces to exploit. But domestic opponents have worked out how to defend against Mikel Arteta’s side to limit open play opportunities.
“I would say they are very predictable. You’re not going to say it’s not good to score off set-pieces, it is outstanding. Before the [Sporting CP] game, it took us a year to score away in Europe, and now the last three scored in the league are from set-pieces,” Henry said in lengthy analysis for Sky Sports.
The Frenchman showed a number of Arsenal clips from recent games to highlight his point that there isn’t enough creativity and that the default position is to give the ball to Bukayo Saka.
“Think about Liverpool, when Mo Salah cuts inside, you have Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota, or [Darwin] Nunez running [on the left], or Conor Bradley sometimes on the inside running. Look at what Bukayo Saka has against Man Utd,” Henry said, implying a lack of dangerous options to pass to.
“But it’s predictable, we all know he’s going to play with [Martin] Odegaard, everyone sees that. Can you beat the line? You can pass to Declan Rice and enjoy a quick 3v2. That’s called creating, playing between the lines, attracting an opponent one way and going the other way to see what you can do.
“Too predictable, it goes to [Oleksandr] Zinchenko. Zinchenko can play to his winger, but he doesn’t, he prefers to play to the ’10]’, if he plays to the winger, the ’10’ can make the run.”
Henry was particularly scathing about Gabriel Martinelli in the same game, focusing on a moment when the Brazilian had the opportunity to run with the ball into space behind his marker.
“Martinelli, 1v1 with [Diogo] Dalot. Would you like to think that is enough space [to run past Dalot], they’re not doubling up and by the time [Matthijs] de Ligt gets there, I don’t think he will make it,” Henry postulated.
He highlighted a ball boy sat by the side of the pitch about midway into the attacking half as a marker: “If I’m the winger, once I pass that ball boy, I’m going, I’m not coming back.”
But Martinelli turned back and soon ended up significantly further away from goal.
“You’re not playing your 1v1,” Henry said. “Maybe a bit more than ten seconds after, look at where your winger was, in the 1v1 situation, and now look at where he is. We worked to put you in a 1v1, why are you bringing the ball to play [on the halfway line]?”
Gabriel Martinelli’s performances have been criticised / Vince Mignott/MB Media/GettyImages
Martinelli’s decision making was further criticised against Everton, with Henry highlighting a clip where there were three Arsenal players in threatening positions in the box.
“This is what I’’m trying to say sometimes. [Critics] will say Arsenal did not create. They did create, it’s the choice that you didn’t take,” Henry bemoaned.
“Martinelli knows that if he dummies with his shoulder and goes inside, he has one tap-in, two tap-in, three tap-in. Shooting on his [weak] foot is the last thing he should have done.
“Then, when you’re in trouble at Arsenal, usually Bukayo Saka tries to do what he can do. He’s turned, can you make a run? No, they’re staying under, while Bukayo is going, trying to beat everybody. But he cannot do it [by himself] and the ball is going to be lost.”
Henry implied that teams have figured Arsenal out. And while attacking set-pieces are a valuable attribute to have, it is masking a deeper problem.
“Let’s put it out there, it’s not easy to play a team that is never going to jump [out of a defensive shape],” he explained.
“Nobody jumps at Arsenal anymore. Monaco tried, you saw the result [3-0]. But if you don’t have bodies between the lines, to create decoys, it’s going to be very difficult if you only give the ball to your winger on the right or on the left. And if that winger on the left is not beating people, you’re [too predictably] playing on the right.
“It has to be a team effort. I always say it’s not because one man scores a lot of goals that you’re going to win it. Everybody needs to score and be important. We [in 2002 and 2004] used to create [on the left] and Freddie [Ljungberg from the right] would make that run between lines and score.
“When you want to be champions – this is also what’s happening to Man City right now – people adapt to what you do. What are you going to bring the year after and the year after? Set-pieces are coming [for Arsenal], but don’t go away from what you were and what you were creating before.”
