Thierry Henry has criticized Mikel Arteta about his failure to sign an out-and-out frontman, insisting that the Arsenal manager “had time to get a nine”.
The North London club was second behind Premier League champions Liverpool this season and failed to increase the single trophy-de 2020 FA Cup-TE by Arteta during his five and a half year rule so far.
While he acknowledged that fitness problems had played a role, the record position of the Gunners emphasized the lack of no. 9 as an important problem.
Henry told the overlap stick to football podcast: “If you look at the injuries and you look at the players who came, he brought players. He got [Raheem] Sterling when everyone wanted a nine. He had time to get a nine.
“I am not the coach, I don't know how the discussion (went) … everyone screamed for a nine – apart from when we win, by the way. If we beat Real Madrid, we didn't need nine.”
Arsenal is repeatedly connected to Alexander Isak from Newcastle – the qualification of the Champions League of the Magpies will probably make that even more difficult – and also sporty frontman Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko.
Henry – A World Cup winner of 1998 in France, however, believes that the former Manchester City of Atletico Madrid Julian Alvarez could be the answer to their problems.
He said: “One of my favorite nines is currently there is Julian Alvarez. We talked about it, putting pressure on it, playing alone, low, whatever you want to do. Do you have the free kick he recently scored?
“He can hold the ball alone, he played at the Olympic Games, he played in the Copa America. I don't hear him say:” I'm tired “or not tired. Hopefully nothing bad will happen to him. He has played everything and the way he plays, I just like him.”
Arteta's lack of silverware at the end of a season in which Newcastle and Crystal Palace claimed that the domestic cups and Tottenham were triumphantly in the Europa League, asked questions.
Although Henry continues to support the Spaniard, he knows that drought cannot continue.
Asked for what Arteta built, the 47-year-old said he admitted that he did a “great work”, but added: “In the beginning when it's not your team, you need at least three to four transfer penters to change everything you want to change.
'It takes time. You have to give a manager the time to be able to implement what he wants to do.
“Now, for the past three years we have been in a situation in which we have to bring at least one cup [to the club]or [be in] A final.
“Man Utd played five finals in their last five years – the United that everyone laughs at. In the last three years of building, you [Arsenal] did not reach a final.
“So I understand when people ask the question – you should certainly have fought that a trophy is in the final. This year we did not compete with Liverpool. I don't know what people think, but we have not experienced once.
'I'm not saying it [this season was a] Disappointment, but it is normal for people now to raise questions about what the team is doing. “