Thierry Henry has issued a stark warning to Arsenal regarding PSG, highlighting them as one of the main threats to the Gunners' Champions League hopes. The former striker is especially impressed with the pressing style and discipline that Luis Enrique's team has shown.
Arsenal kicked off their European campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Napoli, thanks to a late goal from Martin Odegaard. Last season, Mikel Arteta's team reached the Champions League final, only to lose to PSG on penalties.
Henry commented:
Did you see how PSG press? It's impossible to play against them. But it took Luis Enrique five or six months to get this team to gel.
The Frenchman stressed that one of the key factors behind their success is the players' willingness to follow the manager's demands:
People forget how crucial it is for players to be willing to listen to the coach. This doesn't get talked about enough. If the players are ready to do what you ask and have a certain level of quality, you can achieve great things. But if they start to resist, everything becomes much harder.
It's easy to say that PSG are a great team now. Two years ago, when all those players, including Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi, left, everyone thought: 'Oh my God, what's going to happen to them now?'
Then they brought in Bradley Barcola and Desiree Doue. At that moment, no one expected these guys to achieve what they ultimately have.
But Luis Enrique has a very clear understanding of how he wants his team to play, and that has made all the difference. Remember what Ousmane Dembele said? He said: 'If you don't run at PSG, you're out of the team.' It's quite simple.
PSG have kicked off their title defence in the Champions League with a thumping 6-1 win over Slovan. The Parisians have won the tournament in the last two consecutive seasons.
Henry is also cautious about jumping to conclusions regarding the title race in the Premier League. He believes that both Enzo Maresca at Manchester City and Xabi Alonso at Chelsea need time to implement their plans:
When people ask me: 'Who will be Arsenal’s rivals? Who are the contenders? Can a team fight for the title if they sign a certain player?' I say: 'Just wait. Give Maresca time, give Xabi time.'
I have coached before. Some might say: 'Thierry, you've only coached for a minute and a half!'
But even assembling a team for the Olympics in just two weeks, when those players have never played together before and never will again, and creating a playing identity and philosophy in that time is not easy.
So, I say: let the coaches do their work. Let's see.
