Thierry Henry has stated that he is ‘worried’ about Arsenal being in the Europa League because of their thin squad, but made it clear that the starting XI is ‘good enough’.
The legendary striker added that it might be ‘too much’ for Mikel Arteta’s side to cope with the Europa League, a gruelling Premier League campaign and players heading to the World Cup in between, as he told CBS Sports (07/09/22 at 10:45 pm).
After six Premier League games, Arsenal are sitting at the top of the Premier League table, despite their first defeat of the season at the hands of Manchester United over the weekend.
But this is where the serious business kicks in because Arteta now has to manage his squad during a long-haul flight that they might not be prepared for.
The Gunners are currently in Switzerland where they are preparing for their opening Europa League group game against FC Zurich, before facing Everton on Sunday – it’s just the start of a jam-packed schedule for the London club.
As a result, Henry thinks his former side are in for a ‘tough’ time, as he questioned whether the squad can cope with what is about to hit them.
“I worry about the Europa League. Why? Because of the depth of the team,” said Henry. “I think the starting XI is good enough.
“But when you are going to go into those games, a long season, it might be a bit too much. I can see a team and togetherness and I like that.
“I am worried about that (thin squad) because there’s another thing you think as an ex-coach and still as an assistant coach (for Belgium) is how are you going to cope when all those players that come back from the World Cup?
“Are you doing a pre-season? What are you going to do with the players that stay back? How are they going to come back mentally? Physically? It’s going to be a tough one.”
ARE HENRY’S COMMENTS JUSTIFIED?
Compared to last season, Arsenal’s squad has been boosted and it is stronger, but is it strong enough to play midweek game after midweek game, on top of Premier League football?
It was well-documented on transfer deadline day that Arteta tried to bring in another midfielder, after injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny.
Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz was the man they pushed for, but in the end, he stayed put in B6 with his current contract due to expire next summer.
The likes of Henry, Arsenal fans and others questioning won’t know the answer to how the north London side will cope with Europa League football until they get stuck into it, but one thing is for sure, they will need some luck on the injury front.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
