{"id":6009,"date":"2026-04-08T06:33:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6009"},"modified":"2026-04-08T06:33:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:33:38","slug":"thierry-henry-makes-arsenal-champions-league-claim-and-reveals-biggest-weakness-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6009","title":{"rendered":"Thierry Henry makes Arsenal Champions League claim and reveals 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<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"378\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc.png?w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27893447\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Arsenal legend Thierry Henry (Picture: CBS Sports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thierry Henry believes Arsenal are \u2018the most solid\u2019 team in 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 in the semi-finals after beating Sporting 1-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal had lost back-to-back games for the first time this season going into the Champions League quarter-finals, losing to title rivals Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta was \u2018very happy\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 at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>A clean sheet produced by the brilliant 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 best defensive record in the Premier League \u2013 conceding 22 goals in 31 games \u2013 and Henry views his former club as \u2018the most solid\u2019 team in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Legendary striker Henry is concerned about Arsenal up the other end of the pitch, however, and says a lack of creativity could 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&amp;strip=all&amp;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 identify Arsenal\u2019s biggest strength and weakness ahead of their quarter-final first-leg against Sporting on Tuesday night, Henry said on CBS Sports: \u2018We know their biggest strength\u00a0already,\u00a0they are strong as a team and very solid.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018For me they are the most solid team in the Champions League. We also know about the set-pieces \u2013 people are crying about that but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a part of the game and\u00a0a big advantage for Arsenal because\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0pretty good\u00a0at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But if the defence\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0work\u00a0I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think we are creating enough at times to be able to hurt teams and that might be an issue.\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&amp;strip=all&amp;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\u00a0better than coming back with a 0-0 obviously!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0much in the game or a lot of\u00a0creativity\u00a0but they did what they had to do.\u00a0They won away from home,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0see what happens at the Emirates.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The European clash looked set to end in a stalemate before substitutes Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli combined to give 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\udca8Brilliant play from Gabriel Martinelli and Havertz calmly slots home after a sublime first touch \ud83d\udd25 <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LF9EnQutnw\">pic.twitter.com\/LF9EnQutnw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) <a rel=\"nofollow\" 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 important the finishers have been for us, to achieve what we want,\u2019 Arteta said after the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And today, all of them \u2013 Gabi came on and made a huge impact; Kai the same; Max the same. So we really need that, and we\u2019re really happy with that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s very difficult to win away from home in the Champions League and certainly against a team that have won 16 \u00a0games in a row at home, so 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 in 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>Sign up to In The Mixer, your guide to the week in football. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk \u2013 sign up, 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 chances, we lacked certain threat in and around the box \u2013 we needed to be more efficient and crisper with our last pass, and as well we needed David twice to make a save to help us to win.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether he feels the job is only half done ahead of the return leg in north London, Arteta added: \u2018One hundred percent and the players know that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They know 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, thank you so much for following all the way here, and being with the team. We\u2019re very happy to give them the victory.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal put their Champions League aspirations on hold this weekend as they return to Premier League action against Bournemouth.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners currently boast a nine-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who have 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 latest news on <meta charset=\"utf-8\"\/><br \/>\n<strong>Facebook,\u00a0<\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Metro_Sport\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Mikel Arteta told Arsenal are \u2018not at the level\u2019 of two Champions League rivals<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Darren Bent tells Mikel Arteta to drop Arsenal star: \u2018I don\u2019t want to see him again this season\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Steven Gerrard urges Liverpool to re-sign \u00a365.5m player: \u2018I\u2019m missing him\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\">\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\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\"\/><\/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 analysis, 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=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/> Thierry Henry makes Arsenal Champions League claim and reveals biggest weakness | Football<br \/>\n<br \/>#Thierry #Henry #Arsenal #Champions #League #claim #reveals #biggest #weakness #Football<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal legend Thierry Henry (Picture: CBS Sports) Thierry Henry believes Arsenal are \u2018the most solid\u2019&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[361,1523,329,729,317,3694,326,1398,3693,1228],"class_list":["post-6009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-arsenal","tag-biggest","tag-champions","tag-claim","tag-football","tag-henry","tag-league","tag-reveals","tag-thierry","tag-weakness"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724.png",1200,630,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724-300x158.png",300,158,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724-768x403.png",640,336,true],"large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724-1024x538.png",640,336,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724.png",1200,630,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724.png",1200,630,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724-1024x538.png",1024,538,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/henry-d8bc_1775629724-540x340.png",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a 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