Henry bemoans Arsenal weakness that ‘might be an issue’ in Champions League | OneFootball

Thierry Henry has hit upon an Arsenal weakness which “might be an issue” in their bid to win the Champions League this season.

Kai Havertz scored the late winner for the Gunners against Sporting on Tuesday in a game which looked destined to end goalless owing to the lack of creativity on show.

Asked to identify Arsenal’s biggest strength and weakness ahead of their quarter-final first-leg against Sporting on Tuesday night, Henry said on CBS Sports: “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.”

Speaking after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Portuguese champions Sporting, Henry added: “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.”

It was substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Havertz who combined to give Arsenal their late win and Arteta praised his “finishers” after the game.

“It’s been the story of the season, how important the finishers have been for us, to achieve what we want,” Arteta said after the game.

“And today, all of them – Gabi came on and made a huge impact; Kai the same; Max the same. So we really need that, and we’re really happy with that.

“It’s very difficult to win away from home in the Champions League and certainly against a team that have won 16  games in a row at home, so that tells you what we’ve done.

“We had moments where we were very, very dominant, and we had our chances, we lacked certain threat in and around the box – we needed to be more efficient and crisper with our last pass, and as well we needed David twice to make a save to help us to win.”

Asked whether he feels the job is only half done ahead of the return leg in north London, Arteta added: “One hundred percent and the players know that.

“They know how tough it’s going to be now at Emirates Stadium, and we’ll be fully ready for that.

“The supporters were exceptional again, thank you so much for following all the way here, and being with the team. We’re very happy to give them the victory.”