Arsenal legend Thierry Henry defended the Gunners’ style under Mikel Arteta on Monday Night Football, arguing that the priority is ending the club’s 22-year wait for a league title. Henry, the Invincibles’ top scorer in 2003/04, said Arteta had been “asked to find a way, and he has,” with Arsenal now nine points clear at the top of the table having played a game more than second-placed Manchester City.
Arsenal’s approach has attracted criticism, largely because of a heavy reliance on set-pieces, which have contributed to more than a third of their goals this season, despite a transfer outlay in excess of £250m focused largely on attacking players.
“I don’t have to like it as an Arsenal fan, but I surely respect it,” Henry said. “After 22 years, I’m not saying that we’re going to win the league but no matter how they’re going to do it, I’m going to respect it. It doesn’t matter what I like, it doesn’t matter what my mum likes or my dad likes. We asked Mikel Arteta to find a way, he did. It’s as simple as that. I want to win the league, it’s been 22 years.”
Henry noted how the team has adapted to win games they might previously have lost. “For a very long time, Arsenal have been accused of being boys. Not being able to keep a lead, getting bullied. Can they win ugly? That’s exactly what the team is doing, and mastering that.” He acknowledged fans and pundits questioning whether Arsenal have lost the style associated with Arteta’s early years at the club but said success should trump aesthetics. “Now that they are doing it, people are not happy about it.”
Statistically, Arsenal have their tightest defensive record of Arteta’s tenure but are scoring at a lower rate than in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, when they were praised for more expansive play and less dependence on set-piece goals.
Henry also questioned whether perceptions of an “Arsenal way” remain tied too closely to the Arsène Wenger era and even earlier George Graham teams. “What is the Arsenal way? My way? George Graham? What is it? If you think about how the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ came about, that’s closer to Graham than what we were playing, but how Arsenal were playing was closer to us and what Arsene was trying to do. But Arsenal won under Graham and Wenger. What’s the issue here?”
He drew on his own experiences facing José Mourinho’s Chelsea, who were often criticised for pragmatism when they won the Premier League in 2004/05. That Chelsea side scored fewer goals but conceded far fewer, finishing 12 points ahead of Arsenal. “Frank Lampard finished that season as their top goalscorer with 13 goals,” Henry said. “They were very difficult to beat, outstanding on the break. Everyone praised Mourinho and Chelsea, and rightly so. They found a way to stop the duo. So well done. Whether you like Chelsea or not, well done.”
Jamie Carragher echoed the focus on results over stylistic consistency, praising Arteta’s tactical flexibility. He said Arteta’s evolution—from a coach perceived as following Pep Guardiola’s methods to one willing to adopt a more pragmatic, Mourinho-esque approach—sets him apart from most Premier League managers. “It’s almost different to any manager we’ve seen, certainly in terms of the Premier League,” Carragher said. He recalled Arteta’s early months in 2019, the FA Cup win, and how the team’s trajectory created optimism before a stylistic shift became apparent.
Carragher argued that Arteta was initially boxed in as “a Pep Guardiola coach,” but over time has adapted his approach. “The season where they finished fifth and then second, the football was fantastic. But from last season, he’s morphed from one style into almost a Mourinho-style. I’ve been calling Arsenal and Arteta that for a couple of years, but not as a criticism. Mourinho and Guardiola are two of the most successful managers of the last 20 years. They have different ways of going about it, but the fascinating thing about Arteta is he’s started with one and morphed into the other. You don’t normally see that.”
Carragher suggested the club’s recruitment reflects this shift: since the season they finished second and were beaten heavily by Manchester City, many signings have been of a more physical profile. “That first season they finished second, they went to Man City and got beaten up and it cost them the league. Ever since then, every signing they’ve made has been a physical profile. That wasn’t the case when he first came to the club. It’s about power and strength.”