Thierry Henry has warned those Arsenal fans that have been calling for Wenger to leave the club to be careful what they wish for, while also praising Alexis Sanchez
Arsene Wenger has led his side on a fine start to the season – minus the opening day defeat against Liverpool – that see the Gunners tied on points with league leaders Manchester City, second only on goal difference.
Wenger was under tremendous pressure last season, with big sections of the Emirates faithful openly calling for him to resign as manager. Their opening day defeat to Liverpool did nothing to ease the pressure, and the “Wenger Out” Brigade was out in full force again.
However, Arsenal are now on a 13-match unbeaten run, and a lot of the angry fans have been calmed down. This respite is only temporary, however, and a few defeats in a row will ensure that the pressure is back on a manager who has transformed the club in his 20-year reign.
Arsenal legend and top scorer Thierry Henry believes that the fans calling for Wenger’s head must show patience, according to The Standard :
“Be careful what you wish for because when he’s not going to be around people are going to realise what he was doing at the time,” said the ex-Arsenal striker.
Henry also went on to say that he would love for Arsenal to win the title – as he always does – but was unsure if they could do it – as he has been for a few seasons now :
“It looks like finally things are going the right way… It would be great if in his 20th season in charge he can win the title. But are they going to do it? The competition is massive.”
The French striker spent 8 years at Arsenal, and left as their top scorer and club legend, with a statue of him being erected outside the stadium. Wenger was the one responsible for plucking a failing Henry from Juvenuts, and converting the then-winger into a striker.
Gunners fans have been crying out for years of a striker of Henry’s calibre to be signed, with many growing weary of Olivier Giroud’s lack of finishing ability in front of goal.
However, as Henry pointed out, this season has been a different story. Arsenal have played some brilliant free-flowing football, and a lot of this is down to Sanchez finally being used as a striker, something Henry also alluded to according to Squawka :
“I always said in the past two years that Sanchez could be used as an option as a centre-forward,” he said.
“He’s finally playing as a centre forward. He does it for Chile, so it’s not something that he doesn’t know how to do. He did it for Udinese also in Italy and he does it ever so well.
“When you have a guy who as a No.9, the way he puts pressure, the way he moves, his vision for the ball, that creates a lot of holes for Ozil.”
There is no disputing that argument. Sanchez and Ozil not only compliment each other, but also seem to have a telepathic understanding with each other.
Henry is currently training as a coach and has already completed some of his badges – some of them while working with the Arsenal youth team.
Perhaps in the future we will see Henry himself at the helm of the club he holds so dear to his heart.