Thierry Henry believes Arsenal will be 'a very difficult team to beat' if they improve one key facet of their game
Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has advised his former club to improve their conversion rate in the final third. The Frenchman believes the Gunners are unlikely to benefit from signing a striker given the prolific goalscorers already at their disposal.
While discussing the north London side's finishing on CBS Sports Golazo, Henry said (as quoted by football.london):
"I just think that... there was a massive discussion about 'does Arsenal need a number nine?'. What they needed to do is put the ball in the back of the net."
There have been concerns over Arsenal's finishing, with strikers Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah registering just nine league goals between them this season. The Gunners were linked with Brentford's Ivan Toney in the January window as well.
However, the north Londoners have scored 53 league goals and are third in the Premier League's club stats in that respect this term. Referencing the Gunners' 6-0 thrashing of West Ham United last weekend, Henry added:
"When Arsenal does put the ball in the back of the net it's 6-0. In every game it could have been the same - in the cup against Liverpool they didn't do it, they did it with a bit of help in the league from Liverpool - but when Arsenal are on point and put the ball in the back of the net, it doesn't matter who plays."
The former Barcelona striker further stated:
"Trossard will score, Declan Rice has been scoring, Gabriel [Jesus] has been scoring, so it doesn't really matter. If we turn our opportunities into goals, we are going to be - I think - a very difficult team to beat."
The Gunners will next face Burnley in the Premier League at Turf Moor on Saturday (17 February).
"It was a madness" - Michail Antonio makes honest admission after Arsenal's 6-0 thrashing of West Ham
Arsenal ran amok at the London Stadium on 11 February, putting six past the Hammers. William Saliba's 32nd-minute header opened the scoring before Bukayo Saka earned and converted a penalty nine minutes later.
Gabriel Magalhaes scored a header as well shortly after the England international's spot-kick and Leandro Trossard's stoppage-time strike put Arsenal 4-0 up at the break.
Saka then secured his brace in the second half. Declan Rice, who set Saliba and Magalhaes' headers, found the back of the net in the 65th minute to complete the rout.
West Ham's Michail Antonio could not believe his eyes as he watched the Hammers endure a beating. The striker, who has been sidelined due to a knee injury, said on the Footballer's Football podcast (via football.london):
"It was a madness. I was there and I didn't know what to do with myself. When the fourth goal went in, you're seeing floods of fans just walking out.
"It's one of those situations where you can't really blame them. You do want your fans to stay around and support you, but you can't really blame them in that situation."
He added:
"The way the goals went in... it was just an ugly sight and you sometimes have to hold your hands up as a player and we have to do better next week for the fans.
"It was definitely a freak result [0-6] and not the type of result we've had over the last few years. Under the gaffer, we're quite solid. I think the boys were just a bit off it and, as professionals, we need to turn it around."