Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry boldly insisted that “nobody” in world football can match the Gunners’ strength in depth, although that status comes at a cost.
Mikel Arteta exploited his strong bench on Tuesday night in Arsenal’s Champions League opener against Athletic Club. The game was goalless when Gabriel Martinelli replaced Eberechi Eze in the 71st minute. Just 36 seconds later, the Brazilian was celebrating a well-taken goal to break the deadlock.
Martinelli had been teed up by fellow substitute Leandro Trossard, who subsequently doubled Arsenal’s advantage thanks to an assist from none other than Martinelli.
“I looked on the bench, I looked at him [Martinelli], and in his eyes I could see that he was ready,” Arteta gushed post-game. “Leo as well. I think that’s going to help us a lot for the future.
“That shows that they [substitutes] are at least equally important or more important as anyone in this squad. That the finishers are going to be more important this season than the starters.”
Henry very much agreed. “Right now, I will say that nobody has a team as deep as Arsenal, in terms of the quality they can have,” the Frenchman declared in his capacity as a pundit for CBS Sports.
“Some teams can give them a good run for the starting XI, but if you look at the team itself, it’s almost two teams. When you see who is on the bench tonight and you’re still missing [Martin] Ødegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus... when you look at that, the team is well-equipped to play in all competitions.”
Yet, this depth brings newfound pressure. “Now let’s all be honest,” Henry noted, “it’s a must this year to win something. It’s a must. You can’t hide.”
“You have to win something,” he continued, “if you talk about what has been done recently, finishing second never gave you a trophy, it’s great, but at some point you’ve got to validate what you are doing.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Nobody’—Thierry Henry Makes Bold Arsenal Claim After Champions League Win.
