Jamie Carragher made a strong comment about how Mikel Arteta will be viewed based on how the remainder of the 2025-26 season plays out. The defender-turned-pundit even got a shocked reaction from Thierry Henry ahead of Arsenal's Champions League semi-final vs Atletico Madrid.
After losing the EFL Cup final against Manchester City and being knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton recently, the Gunners have gone from dreaming of a quadruple to fearing no trophies will end up at the Emirates. However, there's still a real chance of the big two.
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They lead the way in the Premier League title race, albeit narrowly, and still have a great chance of reaching a first Champions League final since 2006. But how Arsenal's season ends could make or break Arteta's reputation, according to Carragher, anyway.
Mikel Arteta
Barring an FA Cup success in 2020, the Spanish coach is yet to get his hands on major silverware since taking over as Arsenal manager in 2019. Pressure appears to be growing, from the outside at least, for the 44-year-old to get over the line soon.
Speaking ahead of the 1-1 draw against Atletico, Carragher made that exact point as he claimed Arteta would be labelled either a 'genius' or a 'fraud' depending on how many trophies he wins in the next month. The ex-Liverpool defender said:
"We're a month away from deciding what Mikel Arteta is. In a lot of people's eyes, he'll either be a genius or he'll be a fraud.
"That's the nature of it. I don't agree with either of those statements."
Thierry Henry was sat to Carragher's right. The Arsenal icon gave a shocked reaction in the middle of his colleague's comments, with the camera then panning to his wide-eyed stare. Watch the clip below.
Thierry Henry's Honest Thoughts on Arteta's Playstyle
thierry henry
Henry commented on the way Arsenal play in the build-up to the Atletico clash. The Gunners' set-piece reliance has worn thin with many neutral fans in recent times, but the Frenchman gave his own thoughts.
He said (per the Metro): "Let’s see what’s going to happen tomorrow. It’s not so much what I want to see, people are expecting or wanting Arsenal to play a certain way now, they didn’t the whole year. Why do you want them now to just go forward and start to create?"
"They play a certain way, Mikel Arteta plays a certain way, we’re strong on set-pieces, solid, we don’t create a lot," he added. Going on to say he doesn't mind how Arsenal achieve success, he concluded:
"I would just like to see a win, that will do for me and bring something to The Emirates.
"You have to be pragmatic sometimes. You cannot always be Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, we play a different way. I think people have to accept the fact that Mikel Arteta goes about the game like that and hopefully we can win."