Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry has slammed critics of the Gunners' playing style as he defends Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal finally ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League title as they beat Manchester City to the 2025-26 English league title. Mikel Arteta and his men came close to winning the UEFA Champions League but narrowly missed out after losing on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain.
Some questions have been raised over the Gunners' playstyle, with some deeming it to be too defensive and over-reliant on set pieces. During an interview with Jerome Rothen on his podcast 'Rothen s'enflamme', Henry was asked if he was irked by the criticism aimed at Arsenal. He said (via Metro UK):
"It’s not that it annoyed me, it’s that at one point it took Mikel three-and-a-half, four years to be competitive, more or less. It’s not easy to create a team but the leaders believed in him and gave him time and he’s shown he’s a good coach. For me, it had been a long time since the team won the league, so at some point, you have to find a way to actually win it."
Henry then added that Arteta had to find a way to overcome the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool to win the league title, and he respected the Arsenal gaffer for doing so. He said:
"At a certain point, you’ve got to get ahead of Liverpool and City, so the guy [Arteta] is working, he’s trying to find a way to overtake City. Suddenly, we’re tough, we dominate, it’s hard to create chances against us, we don’t get walked all over, but now they are saying they are not playing pretty. You don’t have to love it but you must respect him. He brought back a title, I respect that."
Arsenal are currently second in the PL table with 12 points after 5 games played. They are 3 points behind leaders Man City and will take on Leeds when they return from the international break.
Arsenal handed boost as key player likely to be fit for Leeds clash: Reports
The Gunners have been handed a boost as Ezri Konsa is likely to be fit for their upcoming clash against Leeds. The English defender picked up an issue during the Three Lions' 3-2 loss to Spain and missed their Nations League clash against Czechia. According to football.london, there is hope around the England camp about his fitness as he's likely to feature against Croatia.
This comes as a boost for the Gunners, who are already missing the likes of William Saliba and Piero Hincapie from the backline.