2025-09-17 09:35:08
Thierry Henry has said Arsenal needs to stop “playing not to lose games” in order to win the Premier League.
The Gunners cruised to a 2-0 victory in their UEFA Champions League match with Athletic Club on Tuesday (16.09.25), and Henry – who played for the London side from 1999 to 2007 – has insisted Arsenal are in a position to be genuine contenders for silverware this season.
Speaking for CBS Sports’ coverage of the Champions League, he said: “Right now, I will say that nobody has a team as deep as Arsenal, in terms of the quality they can have.
“Some teams can give them a good run for the starting 11, but if you look at the team itself, it’s almost two teams. When you see who is on the bench tonight and you’re still missing [Martin] Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus … when you look at that, the team is well-equipped to play in all competitions.”
Henry – who won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups during his time at Arsenal – added it was a “must” for the Gunners to lift a trophy this season.
He said: “But now let’s all be honest, it’s a must this year to win something. It’s a must. You can’t hide.
“Whatever it is you have to bring something, I know people will talk about the title, I do think it is going to be a battle between Liverpool and Arsenal, you can’t write off Man City yet, they’re trying new things with new players.”
Arsenal are currently sat in second place behind Liverpool in the Premier League, and finished in the same position last season.
Henry thinks there are “no more excuses” for Arsenal.
He said: “You have to win something, if you talk about what has been done recently, finishing second never gave you a trophy, it’s great, but at some point you’ve got to validate what you are doing.
“I still believe that it is possible, but this year you cannot go back and talk about injuries, which they are happening, like they are happening at other clubs also, you look at Paris Saint-Germain, they’re struggling also with injuries after international duty and a bit before.
“But you have to bring something this year, no more excuses, you have the squad now, you have everything you need to have in order to perform.
“As a fan, I will support the team like I always do, but at one point you’ve got to be honest, this year is a must, no more excuses.”
Henry concluded Arsenal must have a winning mentality if they wanted to secure silverware.
He said: “When you play for the title, you need to go and get it. Not playing not to lose games. If you want to beat Liverpool or Man City, you’ve got to go and get it, you cannot enter a game with, ‘let’s not lose it’.
“If you want to win the league, in my time, you had to get Man United, you cannot just go and say, ‘let’s see if we can draw this one’.”
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