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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Rich Jones & Ben Husband

Thierry Henry says things "can be better" at Arsenal as he discusses Mikel Arteta progress

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes that his old team need to find consistency quickly, if they are to continue to progress under Mikel Arteta.

The Spaniard is in his first full season in the Emirates dugout, having replaced Unai Emery at the end of 2019.

After winning the FA Cup in 2020, it’s not gone as well this time around, with the Gunners marooned in midtable.

A win over Tottenham has increased their chances of securing a top-six finish, but regardless, Henry believes winning a major piece of silverware will give him time.

Mikel Arteta's side have endured some struggles during his first full season as Arsenal boss (Pool via REUTERS)

“First and foremost, I would say yes, in a way, because I think Mikel brought himself some time by winning the FA Cup last year,” he told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football when asked if his former club are making progress.

“I know people will tell me, ‘yes, that’s last year’, but the way he won it and the team he won it against, I think brought him some time with the Arsenal fans and with the team because at the end of the day you have something to show at the end of the season.

“Now, what I think the team is lacking is consistency. I know people always use the word consistency, it’s a big word, but this is what they need to do.”

Thierry Henry has said the Gunners need to find more consistency in order to continue to improve (Sky Sports)

Arteta’s squad has undergone a major overhaul under his stewardship, with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi all shipped out in recent months.

And assessing the job Arteta has done, Arsenal’s record scorer believes he is definitely seeing progress, just without the consistency required.

Henry added: “Right now, I think the squad is good. Can it be better, yes?

“Was there any progress? I think there was progress.

“Was there any structure, are they doing better? The table doesn’t lie at the end of the day. Although you won yesterday, you’re still behind Tottenham and still behind a lot of teams.

“But it is a process, he said it himself, it is a process that soon is going to explode.

“Hopefully it’s going to explode very soon but consistency needs to happen pretty quickly.”

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