Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has said he does not think the Gunners will be able to challenge for the Premier League title this season. According to Henry, the North London club has “too many” teams to catch this season, and it is unlikely that all these teams would collapse to pave the road to the championship.
Arsenal Falls to Disappointing Champions League Defeat Against Inter Milan
After suffering a 1-0 defeat away at Newcastle United over the weekend, Arsenal traveled to San Siro for their UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 appointment with Inter Milan. The Gunners had a decent start but went into the half-time trailing after Hakan Calhanoglu put away a controversial penalty.
The English side piled on the pressure in the second half, but their finishing was below par, which allowed Inter to see out a 1-0 lead. In the aftermath of the defeat, Arsenal has slipped to 12th place in the Champions League rankings.
Thierry Henry Does Not Expect the Gunners to Challenge for the Premier League
After the Champions League showdown on Wednesday (November 6), Henry told CBS Sports:
“Inter Milan gave them the ball, they are happy to give you the ball so were they brave or Inter gave them the ball? Let’s see at the weekend.”
Discussing the Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday, Henry added:
“I don’t know what we’re going to do, I’ll be honest with you, I actually don’t know how we are going to go.
“I know today we were 1-0 down and we had to attack and Inter gave them the ball, I just don’t know how we are going to play away from home.”
Finally, when asked whether Arsenal could realistically challenge for the title this term, the Frenchman added:
“Right now, they are not challenging for the league obviously as you can see the results are not good enough to be able to be at the top.
“My issue is and always has been, we talked about in matchday 2, away from home I don’t think it was good enough but we were getting away with it for a very long time now we are not anymore. So let’s see what’s going to happen against Chelsea.”
He concluded by saying:
“I think it will be extremely difficult because you have too many teams to catch. One team can have a problem but I don’t see two teams collapsing, that’s my issue.”
Arsenal is currently fifth in the Premier League rankings with 18 points. Liverpool is leading with 25 points while Manchester City is second with 23. Nottingham Forest (19 points) and Chelsea (18 points) occupy the next two positions.
