Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has one glaring concern regarding his former team as they prepare for a Premier League title battle with Liverpool and Manchester City.
The Gunners kept their assault on the top spot going with a rampant 6-0 win over Sheffield United on Monday night. They were dominant throughout as they moved back within two points top of the table Liverpool.
Just two points separate the top three teams in the standings with Liverpool and Manchester City facing off in a huge game at Anfield on Sunday (March 10). But while Manchester City and Liverpool have been here before, Arsenal are in somewhat unfamiliar territory.
While they were battling for the title last season, they were out of Europe by March 16 after being knocked out of the Europa League. This time, they are juggling the Champions League and looking to progress beyond the Round of 16.
As a result, Henry has raised questions over whether his former club is ready to cope with the demands. However, he knows those questions have already been answered by Liverpool and Manchester City given their experience in these scenarios.
Speaking on Sky Sports Monday Night Football before Arsenal’s win over Sheffield United, Henry was asked about their remaining fixtures. He highlighted their game at home to Chelsea just days after the second leg of their Champions League game against Porto as a potentially tricky game.
He said: “For me when I look at it, this one will be a difficult one because Chelsea play ever so well against teams that are on the ball, especially when they are away from home.
“Having said that, looking at that, how Manchester City is going to go, who knows? Brighton away, Wolverhampton, I won’t name that team (Tottenham), we all know that they are going to make sure that we don’t win it and that United game away is going to be tricky.
“If you add to that, if we go deep in the Champions League, you have to add those games in that. Can you deal with that? I know Manchester City and Liverpool are equipped to deal with all of that.
“So when I look at this, that is going to be a tough one away from home and I am scared. Why? Because I know it was in the Champions League, but Porto in, between all of our goals and playing well, stopped us from having a shot away from home.
“A team that was well drilled and well positioned. Those teams might see this now and go, give them the ball, let’s stay compact, and speed, speed, speed, they have speed on the counter-attack.”
Unlike Arsenal and Manchester City, Liverpool do not have Champions League football as a potential distraction. Instead, they are in the Europa League Round of 16, with Jürgen Klopp expected to rotate his squad heavily to face Sparta Praha either side of their huge Premier League game against City at Anfield.
Manchester City have an embarrassment of riches in their squad and proved they can cope with both competitions by winning the treble last year. Liverpool have also been there and done that, while the fact they’re in the Europa League rather than the Champions League means the Premier League will undoubtedly be the top priority.
