Thierry Henry details why he doubts Arsenal can win Champions League this season
Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry believes it's too early to tout the London club as prospective Champions League winners, suggesting a busy fixture list could yet take its toll.
Henry was part of the last Arsenal squad to reach the final of the competition, back in 2006. On that occasion, they were out of both domestic cups by late January and well off the pace in the Premier League, but reached the Champions League final without conceding a single knockout goal before falling to Barcelona in Paris.
After leading the team into Europe's top competition for the first time in six years, manager Mikel Arteta oversaw an eye-catching 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven. Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard all found the net as the Premier League side moved top of their group following the first round of fixtures.
Arsenal are still vying for a league title, though, and a domestic push last season saw them fall short in a quest for Europa League glory. While Henry would love to see his former club crowned champions of Europe, he has a few concerns at this early stage.
"It’s early, Jamie, really," Henry told fellow pundit Jamie Carragher on CBS Sports. "As a fan, I want them to win it. As a fan, I wish we could win it. But the depth, playing the league, playing all the competitions that you have to play in England… it might be too much."
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The French Under-21 manager didn't rule it out, though, making reference to that 2006 run.
"If you said to me that Inter would get to the final last year I would’ve said no right from the start," he added. "If you said AC Milan would get to the semi final I would’ve said no.
"If you said to me, also, although I was playing for Arsenal, with that team we went to the final in 2006 I would’ve said no, the way the season was going, but we went. So you’ve got to believe, you never know what can happen, you have teams that are way ahead in terms of what people would say in terms of being in the competition, playing already, big games in that competition, winning it already, so those guys are ahead."
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While the PSV victory was only one match, it certainly earned Arsenal some admirers. Those to sing the praises of Arteta's side included Luuk de Jong, PSV's captain, who led his team to comfortable qualifying victories over Sturm Graz and Rangers before falling short at the Emirates Stadium.
"Arsenal are simply a very good team,’ De Jong said after the game, as reported by Metro. "We tried to put pressure on them, but we quickly conceded two goals.
"They know exactly where to move when we put pressure on them and they always knew where to find a free man. They have a lot of calmness with the ball, their level is so high. It was difficult for us today.
"Still, our team deserves compliments because we fought. Arsenal were just a size too big. We will have to compete with the other teams for second place."
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