Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has offered his honest view on the Gunners’ performance after the were beaten 3-2 away at Manchester United.
Arsenal took the lead at Old Trafford as Emile Smith Rowe scored in bizarre circumstances before Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo flipped the game on its head.
Martin Odegaard levelled for Arsenal, but he then gave away a penalty as Ronaldo bagged the winner.
Arsenal couldn’t get themselves back into the game, falling to another away defeat to a usual ‘big six’ side.
Henry unhappy with Arsenal display
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was working as a pundit for Amazon Prime, covering the Manchester United v Arsenal game.
Speaking after the final whistle, Henry suggested that the first 20 minutes were just what he wanted to see from Arsenal.
United were struggling to cope with Arsenal’s pressing, but Henry felt the Gunners then sat back at 1-0 up.
Henry couldn’t believe that Arsenal tried to hold their lead and became cautious going forward.
Henry did note that Arsenal had a go at 3-2 down, but felt the Gunners only had a go when the game was beyond them – ‘as always’ happens under Arteta.
“First half, the first 20 minutes, trying to play out from the back, putting pressure [on United], it looked like United couldn’t get out of it,” said Henry.
“Then after that, we started to sit. I see that too often with us, we try to hold the lead. Then in the second half obviously we got punished again, then we came back into it, then United goes back, and then – as always with us – it seems like we finish the game well when everything is kind of lost,” he added.
To lose after leading 1-0 and pulling themselves back to 2-2, Arsenal will be gutted.
Arteta can’t afford to be quite so conservative when leading, and Arsenal fans will hope he learns his lesson, especially after Henry’s criticism.
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