In an interview, Arsenal's legendary striker Henry talked about the upcoming North London derby, the Premier League championship competition and other topics. About the North London Derby - I have never liked to play a tough battle after coming...
In an interview, Arsenal's legendary striker Henry talked about the upcoming North London derby, the Premier League championship competition and other topics.
About the North London Derby
- I have never liked to play a tough battle after coming back from the national team game. Fortunately, Arsenal's opponents also have many international players. Sometimes you get the kind of team that has been training for ten days during the international break and has been waiting for you. This is a north London derby, so the intensity of the game will definitely be high.
And your opponent is an unbeaten away team. Against Sunderland, Arsenal allowed their opponents to play the way they are used to. They play long balls and it reminds me of when I was playing in the Premier League, when you couldn't put pressure on any team at all. Any free-kick, throw-in or goal-kick is going to fall into your box and you have to fight for it and when Ballard and Brobby came up to press us, our players couldn't do that.
So we need to see what happens against Tottenham, and I believe the team is ready. In this kind of competition, you don't need anyone to tell you what to do. You know what's going on and you need to snap out of it, and if you don't know that, you don't know who you're playing for.
Regarding Manchester City's tactical adjustments and Premier League competition
- I am very impressed. I never thought that Guardiola would allow wingers to cut inside so early in the offensive build-up phase. I also never thought he would allow the left winger to play on the right, something that would never have happened when he was in charge - two wingers on the same side of the ball at the same time, as they did against Manchester United at home.
Guardiola has found a way, he needs to find his starting lineup, and now you can see that Doku is obviously the best candidate on the left, while the right will be rotated by Serki or Savinho. Foden's return to form changes the direction of the competition, but I think he is better suited to the right midfielder, where he can pass the ball with his left foot and punish the opponent.
We're still waiting for Rodri to get back to a certain level and I think they're still missing a bit of form, despite Nico Gonzalez's outstanding performance against Liverpool. Now, O'Reilly is beginning to show the strength people expected. And they have a super genius on the forward line who can score goals with his eyes closed. So if you are an Arsenal fan, this is definitely the last opponent you want to face because they know how to win.
As an Arsenal fan, it doesn't feel good to see them return to their peak form. They look like they are going to start a winning streak, and I think Guardiola will have to deal with two new assistant coaches and a new tactical system. While City were adjusting their tactics, you would have hoped that Arsenal would take the opportunity to score some points, and that was exactly what happened, but it was destined to be a tough fight.
You have never lost a North London derby. Do you recall your excellent record against Tottenham when you were an Arsenal player?
——Of course I have thought about it. I wasn't an Arsenal fan when I was a kid, and when I first came here I didn't understand how much importance the fans attached to beating Tottenham. But then in the training ground, Pat Rice, Paul Johnson and all the Arsenal fans told you that you had to beat them. I was thinking about Manchester United and thinking: "Why is the derby so important? We just want to be at the top of the table, so don't worry about the teams behind us." But then I started to realize how important it is to beat Tottenham and you want to keep the record, which is why I celebrated like that after scoring in the last North London derby at Highbury. I was sitting on the bench because we still had a Champions League semi-final to play and the manager said he wanted me to rest. I said: "What? You're going to give me a rest against Tottenham?" I came on as a substitute and scored the equalizer. I controlled the ball with the inside of my foot and then hit the far corner directly with my toe. That's why my celebration was so crazy - I didn't want to lose to Tottenham for the first time in the last derby at Highbury. This game has meant so much to me since I became an Arsenal fan and not losing to them is something I will always cherish.
