Thierry Henry issues new Champions League verdict after Arsenal win at Sporting

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·8 April 2026

Thierry Henry issues new Champions League verdict after Arsenal win at Sporting

Gunners are no longer the clear favourites to win the competition

Thierry Henry says Arsenal still have questions to answer in the Champions League after a 1-0 win away at Sporting on Tuesday night.

The Gunners will take a valuable first-leg lead back to north London next week thanks to Kai Havertz's injury-time winner, which saw Sporting's 17-game winning run at home come to an end.

Arsenal have been favourites to win the competition for much of the season, but Bayern Munich's 2-1 win away at Real Madrid saw them move ahead of the Gunners with some bookmakers.

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And Henry believes that while Arsenal are the "most solid" of the teams left in the competition, a lack of creativity continues to hamper Mikel Arteta's side.

Asked for his thoughts on the result, Henry told CBS Sports: "It’s better than coming back with a 0-0 obviously!

"There wasn't much in the game or a lot of creativity but they did what they had to do. They won away from home, let’s see what happens at the Emirates."

Asked to elaborate, Henry declined. "I told you, they won away from home, let’s see what they can do at the Emirates," he said. "I will talk at the end."

Speaking ahead of the game, Henry said: "We know their biggest strength already, they are strong as a team and very solid.

"For me they are the most solid team in the Champions League. We also know about the set-pieces – people are crying about that but it’s a part of the game and a big advantage for Arsenal because they’re pretty good at it.

"But if the defence doesn’t work I don’t think we are creating enough at times to be able to hurt teams and that might be an issue."