Thierry Henry has voiced a rather bold opinion, suggesting that many neutral football fans are not rooting for Arsenal to clinch the Premier League title. Despite Mikel Arteta’s squad entering the season as underdogs, given their 22-year drought without a Premier League trophy, Henry believes the support isn’t there.
Arsenal bolstered their title hopes with a decisive 2-0 victory over Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of the table to a commanding 10 points.
Their position was further solidified when Manchester City, considered their closest competition, only managed a draw against West Ham later that same evening. Meanwhile, West Ham is currently embroiled in their own battle to avoid relegation.
Appearing on Monday Night Football, Henry was candid in his assessment, stating that Arsenal lacks widespread backing both in the title race and in the Carabao Cup final.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘anyone but Arsenal for the league title,'” Henry remarked. “In the past, I rooted for Liverpool to win because I wanted to see Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard lift the trophy,” he explained. “Even if Liverpool wasn’t my favorite, I supported the underdog—the team that struggled to secure the title. Yet, it seems many people don’t share the same sentiment for Arsenal this season.”
Thierry Henry suggested that fans were against the idea of Arsenal finally claiming the Premier League trophy after years of near-misses
Arsenal are now nine points clear at the top of the table after Man City drew with West Ham
‘Whether I like Liverpool or not, you root for the underdog, the team that couldn’t do it, or failed to win the league. (But) a lot of people don’t want Arsenal to win the league.’
Carragher, alongside Henry for the evening, agreed, calling it ‘strange’.
‘I think it’s very strange, and maybe it’s the same with the Carabao Cup final,’ Carragher noted. ‘When you have a team like Man City, who have dominated the past era, most neutrals want the underdog – the team who want the battle.
‘But it doesn’t feel that way with Arsenal. Maybe there’s a lot of Man United, or Liverpool fans, even though City is the local rival, and Liverpool have been competing with City for the title (in recent years), they’re looking and thinking, “maybe I want City to win it”.
‘There is something about Arsenal, and the way they’ve gone about it, whether it’s the style of football, whether it’s Arteta on the side of the pitch, there is something about them – maybe it’s the fanbase, they get a bit of criticism – that maybe rubs people up the wrong way.’
As the business end of the season sharpens up, Arteta and Co have come under criticism for their style of play, perceived by their detractors as winning at all costs.
Jamie Carragher wondered if whether Mikel Arteta’s touchline presence had impacted public opinion over the club
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was particularly full-throated as he hinted at Arsenal deploying dark arts tactics to secure their 1-0 win at the start of the month.
‘There was only one team who tried to play football today,’ said Hurzeler after the final whistle. ‘There was so many actions (of time-wasting).
‘In the end, it’s about the rules. If the Premier League, the referee, allows everything, then it is difficult. They (Arsenal) make their own rules. At the moment I have a feeling that they do their own rules, no matter how they are playing.’
But Everton’s manager David Moyes – who worked with Arteta as one of his players during his first stint at Goodison Park – insisted that it was wrong to criticise a team for winning at any cost.
‘Arsenal have been excellent,’ Moyes said last week. ‘From the first game of the season. Probably maybe outside PSG, the biggest favourites for the Champions League.
‘It’s amazing people have been critical, who are the people who have been critical of them?
‘They’re in a great position, have been all season, winning the games. Unless the referees do more on set-pieces – which they really should be doing, to be honest – you’d have to say they are taking all the advantages they can get. They have an incredible squad.’
