PREMIER LEAGUE:THIERRY HENRY believes the current Arsenal squad can force their way into the top four this season despite the fierce challenges being mounted by the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool to reach the Champions League.
The veteran striker, who has rejoined the north London club on a two-month loan deal from New York Red Bulls, scored the winning goal nine minutes into his return on Monday night to propel Arsene Wenger’s side beyond Leeds and into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Henry spent the aftermath of that emotional occasion fearful that “someone was about to wake me up from a dream”, with the presence of another former member of the Invincibles team of 2003-04, Robert Pires, at training yesterday adding to the sense of the surreal.
Pires, a free agent since leaving Aston Villa last summer, joined Wenger’s squad to maintain his fitness and is not about to follow Henry into the first team. Yet, the striker believes the current crop of players, who started the season so poorly, but have since risen to fifth, can recover to retain their regular place in the top four.
“We obviously don’t want to drop out of those positions,” said Henry. “There’s going to be a hell of a competition this year to be in them. But I do think this team does have what it takes to finish in the top four, particularly if you think about the way the team has come back from the beginning of the season.
“I know that people want more, and I can assure you that the players want more. Targeting a place in the top four is not what you want to see as an Arsenal fan and, trust me, as an Arsenal player also. But the team is slowly getting into form. The season is still long, anything can happen.”
Henry has agreed an initial deal until the middle of next month at the Emirates Stadium, but Arsenal are expected to extend that by a further 10 days until February 26th. That longer spell would take in a derby against Spurs, as well as the visit of Manchester United and, potentially, the first leg of the Champions League knockout tie against Milan. “Remember, I am a Red Bulls player, and all this depends upon what the boss decides to do,” said Henry.
Guardian Service
