21 April 2023 , 20:14
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Thierry Henry was back at The Emirates for Arsenal's pivotal Premier League clash with Southampton, but would have wanted to cover his eyes 15 minutes in.
The iconic Frenchman was sat next to another former fan favourite in Patrick Vieira, and looked on in horror as home keeper Aaron Ramsdale's error gifted Carlos Alcaraz a goal inside a minute. It soon got worse, with Theo Walcott coming back to haunt The Gunners with a crisp finish to make it 2-0.
On commentary for Sky Sports, Gary Neville noted the frenetic nature of Mikel Arteta's men as Oleksandr Zinchenko orchestrated an emergency meeting on the half way line: "Well shock, absolute shock around this stadium," he said. "Here he is, he’s calling a huddle. I have to say, he would have been better off getting around his centre back than calling a huddle.
"This is extremely strange - extremely strange. [Martin] Odegaard’s having a word with him and saying what’s going on? But, it’s all a little odd. If you wanted signs of nerves, signs of a wobble, signs of tension, you’re seeing it right in front of your eyes."
But Henry, a member of Arsenal's last title winning squad in that famous invincible campaign back in 2003/04, seemingly saw it coming. After Arteta's men had thrown away consecutive 2-0 leads against Liverpool and West Ham, he cast doubt over their composure ahead of games with the Saints, and crucially, Manchester City on April 26.
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"I don't know when it was that we last won against City, so that's going to be a tough one," he told CBS Sports. "The last game didn't reassure me when we played them at home. From the Arsenal point of view, since the beginning of the season, I have been talking about emotions. You don't win a title on emotions - you win cups - because its one game, then one game."
Aaron Ramsdale laments his early error (Getty Images)Urging the players to be less anxious, he added: "38 games - you can't be too emotional about it, but you've seen recently how emotional we've been. So far, we were not expected to be there. You still have hope, we're still ahead, Man City still have to win games to get ahead of us. It is still there in front of you, but get rid of the emotional part of the game."
His old side failed to heed his warning. However, Arsenal did get back into the game before half time, with Gabriel Martinelli volleying in after 20 minutes to reduce the deficit at half time.
Should Arsenal lose to their rock bottom opponents. they will still go to The Etihad four points clear of City, who are in FA Cup action this weekend. But Pep Guardiola's men will have two games in hand, and would be in control of their own destiny.