Thierry Henry has warned that Arsenal missing out on a top-four finish in 2021-22 would represent “failure” for the club as their Premier League rivals continue to drop points.
The Gunners have enjoyed a productive week, with their battling 1-0 win away at Wolves with 10 men followed by missed opportunities for West Ham, Tottenham and Manchester United.
The Red Devils did move fourth on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over Brighton, but Arsenal are only four points off the pace and boast three games in hand over arch rivals from Old Trafford.
What has been said?
Gunners legend Henry believes qualification for elite European competition – for the first time since 2015-16 – is now a must for Mikel Arteta’s side, with the Frenchman telling CBS Sports: “The best thing about Arsenal is that they didn’t play. West Ham didn’t take advantage of it. Tottenham has never taken advantage of it.
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“But Arsenal had to go and win at Wolves. That was a massive win, so there are still a lot of games to go. For me, if they don’t do it, as I said at the start of the season, then it will be a failure.”
View from the Arsenal camp
GettyVictory at Molineux saw Arsenal snap a five-match winless run in all competitions, with an untimely wobble seeing them slip out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Full focus is now locked on Premier League fixtures, but Arteta insists nobody at Emirates Stadium is getting carried away by talk of Champions League football being on the cards.
The Spanish tactician said after seeing his side edge out Wolves: “You don't know how many points we're going to need to get to the objectives but, as well, we need to look at ourselves and focus on what we're doing and go game by game because we can't look too far ahead.
“They are three big points, especially coming here with the way that they've been playing. I think they were pretty close to us as well, and to come here and in the way that we've done it, I think it shows and I think it's a good summary of who we are.”
The Gunners – who are sat sixth at present, two points above Wolves and three clear of north London neighbours Spurs – will be back in action on Saturday when playing host to Brentford.
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