Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger React to Arsenal vs. Leicester City Match

Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to move to within two points of top spot in the Premier League, but former Gunner Thierry Henry doesn't believe his old club look like champions.

The Gunners' all-time record goalscorer, now a Sky Sports pundit, told Sky Sports he has doubts about Arsenal's title credentials (h/t Charlie Phillippe of the Sunday Express): "I don't think they played really well, it wasn't a great Arsenal performance, they didn't look like champions but they won the important one.”

Arsenal had fallen behind to a contentious Jamie Vardy penalty, before substitutes Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck fired back, with the latter scoring deep into injury time.

Henry felt the second-half dismissal of Danny Simpson for two yellow cards helped the Gunners look better than they were: "The ending was like a great movie. Arsenal didn't do enough at the end of the day I thought at one point. Leicester went down to 10 men which made it a bit easier for Arsenal to play."

Matt Dunham/Associated Press/Associated Press

Playing against 10 certainly created more space for Arsenal. The likes of Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil were given the freedom of the middle of the pitch as Leicester sat deep and defended in numbers.

Arsenal's trio of playmakers responded by delivering a litany of balls into the box to target a small platoon of strikers, including match-winner Welbeck.

Henry was pleased for Arsenal's last-gasp hero: "I'm very happy for Danny Welbeck because I see him every day and he suffered a lot not being able to help the team. He helped the team massively today."

But he also indicated tougher tests lie ahead for his old team, despite the must-win nature of the game with Leicester: "This will give Arsenal massive belief. They have difficult away fixtures. They had to win today."

Henry has a point considering Arsenal play at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in two of their next three league fixtures. Picking up points in those games is the only way to make Welbeck's memorable winner against the Foxes really count.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had introduced the former Manchester United man, as well as fellow goalscorer Walcott, in the second half after Simpson walked. Wenger felt his side was ultimately rewarded for the bold approach, according to Sky Sports' Rory O'Callaghan: "We finished the game with four strikers and Mesut Ozil playing as a deep-lying midfielder. We had to take all the risks to win it and, in the end, they didn't have the energy to come out and that helped us created chances."

He also revealed how he nearly didn't pick Welbeck at all: "I had a hesitation until the last second to put him in the squad. In the end I trusted the impression I got from his training sessions, so we thought, 'OK, we'll put him in'."

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

The Frenchman lauded his side's "relentless energy," along with the mental fortitude to come back from a goal behind in a game with huge implications for the title race:

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I just wanted to make sure that we kept our relentless energy, keep going until the end and keep created chances to have an opportunity to come back.

I believe that we put the right level of intensity from the first minute to the last minute in this game. We were mentally strong because being 1-0 down against a team of that calibre and coming back is very difficult.

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Mental strength, intensity and "relentless energy," some of Wenger's favourite tropes, are the kind of qualities that will prove decisive in a title push.

Where Henry saw a largely pedestrian performance, Wenger was clearly keen to play up the idea his team had the mettle to grind out a result under pressure.

That is something that has so often eluded Arsenal since Wenger last lifted the title in 2004. While his current squad is nowhere close to as talented as that decorated vintage, today's group is showing an underrated steely determination when it counts.

Wenger knows how key that resolve will be now that his team has kept title hopes alive after a four-game winless run in January had dampened spirits. 

"After that bad spell, still being in with a chance, is a good result," he said. "Hopefully, the result today strengthens belief in the team that we have a chance."

Wenger can take heart from Welbeck's scoring return as proof his squad now has greater options for the run-in. This Arsenal squad need more goals, making a buoyant Welbeck and Walcott a particularly welcome sight, as well as a clear boost to the Gunners' title chances.