{"id":315797,"date":"2026-04-09T09:46:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=315797"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:46:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:16:48","slug":"thierry-henry-makes-arsenal-champions-league-claim-and-divulges-biggest-weakness-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/thierry-henry-makes-arsenal-champions-league-claim-and-divulges-biggest-weakness-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Thierry Henry makes Arsenal Champions League claim and divulges biggest weakness | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption>Arsenal legend Thierry Henry (Picture: CBS Sports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thierry Henry believes Arsenal are \u2018essentially the most solid\u2019 team within the Champions League but fears the team\u2019s biggest weakness could prevent them from winning the competition.<\/p>\n<p>Mikel Arteta\u2019s Premier League leaders have one foot within the semi-finals after beating Sporting 1-0 in the primary leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal had lost back-to-back games for the primary time this season going into the Champions League quarter-finals, losing to title rivals Manchester City within the Carabao Cup final and Championship side Southampton within the FA Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta was \u2018very glad\u2019 to see his team get back to winning ways out in Lisbon courtesy of Kai Havertz\u2019s injury-time winner and take a one-goal lead back for next week\u2019s return leg on the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>A clean sheet produced by the sensible David Raya against Sporting means Arsenal have now conceded just five goals in 11 Champions League games this season.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners also boast by far the most effective defensive record within the Premier League \u2013 conceding 22 goals in 31 games \u2013 and Henry views his former club as \u2018essentially the most solid\u2019 team in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Legendary striker Henry is anxious about Arsenal up the opposite end of the pitch, nevertheless, and says an absence of creativity may very well be an \u2018issue\u2019 for Arteta as he chases a Premier League and Champions League double.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269707871.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=594\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27893740\" alt=\"Sporting Clube de Portugal v Arsenal FC - UEFA Champions League 2025\/26 Quarter-Final First Leg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Kai Havertz earned Arsenal a narrow win (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Asked to discover Arsenal\u2019s biggest strength and weakness ahead of their quarter-final first-leg against Sporting on Tuesday night, Henry said on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@cbssportsgolazo\/videos\">CBS Sports<\/a>: \u2018We all know their biggest strength\u00a0already,\u00a0they&#8217;re strong as a team and really solid.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018For me they&#8217;re essentially the most solid team within the Champions League. We also know concerning the set-pieces \u2013 persons are crying about that but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0an element of the sport and\u00a0a giant advantage for Arsenal because\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0pretty good\u00a0at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But when the defence\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0work\u00a0I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think we&#8217;re creating enough at times to give you the option to harm teams and that may be a difficulty.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269711737.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=594\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27893751\" alt=\"Sporting v Arsenal - UEFA Champions League\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Mikel Arteta after Arsenal\u2019s win over Sporting (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking after Arsenal\u2019s 1-0 win over Portuguese champions Sporting, Henry added: \u2018It\u2019s\u00a0higher than coming back with a 0-0 obviously!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0much in the sport or a whole lot of\u00a0creativity\u00a0but they did what that they had to do.\u00a0They won away from home,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0see what happens on the Emirates.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The European clash looked set to finish in a stalemate before substitutes Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli combined to present Arsenal a late win.<\/p>\n<div class=\"metro-embed__twitter\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"all\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Superb Kai Havertz \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8Sensible play from Gabriel Martinelli and Havertz calmly slots home after a sublime first touch \ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LF9EnQutnw\">pic.twitter.com\/LF9EnQutnw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/footballontnt\/status\/2041623039612228018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 7, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s been the story of the season, how vital the finishers have been for us, to attain what we wish,\u2019 Arteta said after the sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And today, all of them \u2013 Gabi got here on and made a big impact; Kai the identical; Max the identical. So we actually need that, and we\u2019re really glad with that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s very difficult to win away from home within the Champions League and positively against a team which have won 16 \u00a0games in a row at home, in order that tells you what we\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n<div class=\"metro-poll\" id=\"1775629508954-27893429\" data-option1=\"All the way!\" data-option2=\"Runners-up\" data-option3=\"Semi-finals\" data-option4=\"Quarter-finals\" data-url=\"https:\/\/api.metro.co.uk\/polls\/v2\/\" data-track-module=\"poll\">\n<h3 class=\"metro-poll__title\">How far will Arsenal go within the Champions League?<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"metro-poll__list\">\n<li data-option=\"option1\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<\/li>\n<li data-option=\"option2\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<\/li>\n<li data-option=\"option3\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<\/li>\n<li data-option=\"option4\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--sport\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>Join to In The Mixer, your guide to the week in football. Exclusive evaluation, FPL suggestions and transfer talk \u2013 join, it\u2019s an open goal.<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u2018We had moments where we were very, very dominant, and we had our probabilities, we lacked certain threat in and across the box \u2013 we would have liked to be more efficient and crisper with our last pass, and as well we would have liked David twice to make a save to assist us to win.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether he feels the job is just half done ahead of the return leg in north London, Arteta added: \u2018100% and the players know that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They understand how tough it\u2019s going to be now at Emirates Stadium, and we\u2019ll be fully ready for that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The supporters were exceptional again, thanks a lot for following all the way in which here, and being with the team. We\u2019re very glad to present them the victory.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal put their Champions League aspirations on hold this weekend as they return to Premier League motion against Bournemouth.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners currently boast a nine-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who&#8217;ve a game in hand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Follow Metro Sport for the newest news on <meta charset=\"utf-8\"><br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sportmetro\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Metro_Sport\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/metrosportuk\/\">Instagram<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Manchester United board slammed over \u2018certainly one of the largest transfer mistakes ever\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Michael Carrick provides Lisandro Martinez update with Harry Maguire set to miss Man Utd vs Leeds<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: \u2018I disagree totally\u2019 \u2013 Shay Given shuts down bizarre claim about Arsenal star David Raya<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--sport\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>Football Newsletter \u2013 In The Mixer<\/h4>\n<p>Punchy evaluation, transfer talk and more from Metro&#8217;s football experts, sent straight to your inbox every week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal legend Thierry Henry (Picture: CBS Sports) Thierry Henry believes Arsenal are \u2018essentially the most solid\u2019 team within the Champions League but fears the team\u2019s biggest weakness could prevent them from winning the competition. Mikel Arteta\u2019s Premier League leaders have one foot within the semi-finals after beating Sporting 1-0 in the primary leg of their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":315798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20686],"tags":[2605,2056,5941,6146,5479,14082,622,943,17737,7667],"class_list":["post-315797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-arsenal","tag-biggest","tag-champions","tag-claim","tag-football","tag-henry","tag-league","tag-reveals","tag-thierry","tag-weakness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315797"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315800,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315797\/revisions\/315800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}