Henry warns Arsenal of tough challenges ahead in Champions League draw
Thierry Henry, the legendary Arsenal striker turned pundit, has weighed in on the upcoming Champions League quarter-final draw, singling out Manchester City and Real Madrid as the teams his former club should steer clear of.
Following Arsenal’s hard-fought win over Porto, securing their spot in the last eight, Henry expressed his views on the potential matchups.
When asked if he views Dortmund as a weaker’ side in the Champions League quarter-final draw, Henry stated on CBS Sports:
‘I’ve been in both situations as a player where sometimes people didn’t want to play us with Arsenal and we didn’t go really far, and we had a team when we went to the final I don’t think was our best team at Arsenal.
‘I remember when we drew Real Madrid everyone laughed because they said, ‘Arsenal are the team you want’, and we Juve and everyone said, ‘that’s a good draw for Juve’, then we played Villarreal, who were a good team at the time, then they aid, ‘it’s good to play Arsenal’, then obviously we couldn’t win the final.
‘I’m just saying, you can never disrespect anyone in Europe.
‘There are two teams there who can be cocky – it’s Real Madrid and Man City, that’s about it. The others, you just take who you can play.
‘Man City are the team to beat still, for me. I know Pep, it’s not how he’s going to take it, I was just putting it out there.
‘Me as a player, I’ve been in too many situations to know that sometimes the so-called team who was easy to play against is not the case, you arrive and people think, ‘you’re going to win it easy’, no, that’s not really the case.
‘So the champions can talk – Man City – and then Real Madrid, we already know they have 14, other than that, let’s see what’s going to happen.’
With the draw looming, Henry emphasized the formidable challenge posed by both City and Madrid, highlighting their prowess in European competition. He underscored the unpredictability of this stage and stressed the absence of easy opponents.
As Arsenal awaits their fate in Friday’s draw alongside other heavyweights like Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain, Henry’s insights serve as a reminder of the daunting task ahead.
For Mikel Arteta’s side, navigating past City or Madrid would undoubtedly require a monumental effort, as they aim to progress further in their quest for European glory.
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