Thierry Henry has said that Arsenal cannot produce a performance similar to “anything” he has seen from the Gunners this season when they take on Manchester City in a crunch Premier League title showdown on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s men travel to the Etihad Stadium in the driving seat in the title race, six points clear of their rivals with six games to play.
City have a game in hand on the north London club, however, and came out in top in their most recent meeting, the Carabao Cup final, where they won 2-0.
Arsenal reached the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night in unspectacular fashion, with a goalless draw enough to squeak through after their narrow 1-0 win at Sporting Lisbon in the first leg last week.
Now, while Henry still “believes” that the Gunners can win the Premier League title - in what would be their first since 2004 - the Frenchman says that they must bring the “fire” that Arteta referred to previously in order to produce a performance worthy of a Premier League trophy.
“I believe what [Arteta] saying, but when you talk like that you have to do it,” the former Arsenal legend said on CBS.
“I didn’t see that tonight [against Sporting]. We are through, very happy. But I want the league. Go and win at Man City. I want to see that fire there. I believe, but show it.
“I hope [the performance against City is] not like tonight or against Brighton, Bournemouth or Mansfield, or anything I’ve seen this season.”
Henry was asked whether the performance against Sporting would be enough against the Man City “I’ve seen recently?”, and the former striker laughed.
“We’re talking about the team that won four in a row,” he continued.
“Liverpool came in between that but if not, it would have been more.
“I want to see that fire at the Etihad. It’s easy to talk. Go there, at Man City, and deliver. I will even bring it if you want.”
“I do believe we can win the league. This is the biggest chance in their lives not just to shut anyone down, but to prove to themselves as a team that they can.
“Then, people won’t talk about [bottling]. I heard ‘fire’. I want to see that fire at the Etihad.”
"I want to see that fire at the Etihad." 🔥
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 15, 2026
Thierry Henry discusses his desire for Arsenal to bring intensity this weekend in their Premier League match against Manchester City ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/1556cj2s98
Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was also not enamoured by Arsenal’s display against Sporting at the Emirates Stadium.
“I’m not sure they’ve got the quality in attack,” Carragher explained.
“The game [shows that] Arsenal don’t have those players in attack.
“When you get to the business end of the season, sitting in the Champions League, even though I’ve tipped Arsenal to win it, I can’t see a team win the Champions League who don’t have a star in the front four. They haven’t got one.”
Arsenal will play Atletico Madrid in the last four of Europe’s top competition, with the first leg coming at the Estadio Metropolitano at the end of the month.
