Thierry Henry Criticises Arsenal on Sky Sports Before Manchester City Triumph

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry didn't pull any punches in his debut as a pundit for Sky Sports, saying his former club has gone backwards ahead of their 2-0 win over defending Premier League champions Manchester City.

As reported by the Mail Online's Anthony Hay, he pointed out the lack of a physical midfielder as one of the reasons the Gunners have struggled, while also emphasising he doesn't believe manager Arsene Wenger is happy with the current status quo:

"

Yes, they have gone backwards, it looks like they are a team who looks to finish fourth.

When you look at Arsenal they should be trying to win the title.

I’m sure Arsene, the fans and the board want more. You can be upset at Arsenal losing to Stoke City but it is the way they went after Arsene and the words they used.

They are not far but they are missing a big piece. They are missing a (Patrick) Vieira and a Gilberto Silva.

Those guys would have done anything to allow us to perform well. They protected the back four. Do Arsenal have that now, I don’t think so.

"

He went on to praise former Gunner Alex Song, who is currently enjoying a fine season with West Ham United. He even suggested the club could look into bringing him back, telling the cameras Song "would improve Arsenal" and that he "is the type of player you want in front of your back four."

Arsenal played an excellent match against City on Sunday, with Santi Cazorla pulling the strings and Francis Coquelin acting as the midfield enforcer. The Spain international opened the scoring from the penalty spot and assisted Olivier Giroud for the team's second goal.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

After the match, Henry acknowledged the great performance from Coquelin, playing in that midfield spot he criticised before the match. As shared by Metro Sport, he even believes the Frenchman might be the solution to Wenger's woes:

Henry's comments on the current state of the Gunners are of course not far-fetched. As a member of the Invincibles squad that won the Premier League title in 2003-04 and the top scorer of the title campaign in 2001-02, the former France international can point at the fact the club hasn't won the league since.

Most fans will also agree the club's recent struggles have mainly come on the defensive end, with the back four receiving minimal protection from the holding midfielders. Coquelin's emergence has been relatively recent—the position was in turmoil at the start of the campaign.

Former England international Gary Lineker joked about the impact his words appeared to have on the squad that took the pitch against City:

Henry's statements certainly weren't outlandish, and he never slammed his former club either. He simply repeated what most pundits and fans have been saying for months, and as a former member of the club, he brings unique insights to the table.

His debut as a Sky Sports pundit went very well overall, and if the Gunners keep putting in performances like this every time he highlights an area of concern, fans won't mind the criticism one bit.

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