Thierry Henry has played down the significance of Arsenal’s dominant group performance in the Champions League – pointing out PSG’s poor showing at the same stage last season.
Arsenal have been all-conquering in Europe thus far, winning seven from seven to open up a three-point advantage over second-placed Bayern Munich at the top of the league phase.
The Gunners’ 100 per cent start had briefly looked under threat on Tuesday night when Inter Milan’s Petar Sucic cancelled out Gabriel Jesus’ opener to make it 1-1 at the San Siro.
But the impressive Jesus restored Arsenal’s lead on the half-hour mark before Viktor Gyokeres came on and put the contest to bed with a superb first-time finish in the 84th minute.
The statement victory over Inter, last year’s runners-up, secured Mikel Arteta’s men a top-two finish – and qualification for the last 16 – with one game to spare ahead of their final group match at home to Kazakhstan outfit Kairat.
It’s been a strong display from the English contingent in this year’s competition, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea all currently sitting in the top eight, which automatically guarantees progression.
However, there remains an alternative path to the knockout phase via the play-offs for those teams that finish ninth to 24th – which is how PSG qualified before going on to lift the trophy for the first time last season.
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Looking at a graphic of the current top eight on CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage on Wednesday night, a beaming Micah Richards declared that the Premier League was ‘dominating’ in Europe.
But legendary ex-Arsenal striker Henry was quick to shut Richards down, stressing: ‘It’s about winning it. That’s all it is, nothing else.
‘It’s about winning it. Paris Saint-Germain were not in that [top eight] last year. That’s a fact, Paris Saint-Germain were not in that [top eight] last year.’
According to Henry, Arsenal’s perfect start matters little and will ultimately be forgotten if they then fail to get their hands on the prestigious trophy.
On the Gunners being in a ‘good position’, Henry replied: ‘No, it’s about winning it.
‘Paris Saint-Germain were not [in that] that last year.
‘It doesn’t matter. You have to be there in Budapest, right? That’s where you need to be.’
Asked if he plans to be in Budapest for the final, Henry responded: ‘For sure! But I don’t need to be in the top eight!’
Arteta cut a relaxed figure on the touchline for much of Tuesday’s contest at the San Siro, in contrast with his usual demeanor in the technical area.
Speaking to Amazon Prime shortly after the final whistle, the Spaniard underlined just how ‘proud’ he was of his players going to ‘another level’ against such top opposition.
‘I’m very proud of the team,’ Arteta said.
‘We said before the game, we needed a special performance and we’ve certainly done that today.
‘We went to another level and to do it at the San Siro against one of the best teams in Europe is something else.
‘It was about trying to be better than them. They manage and control the games in a very good way, and we knew we would have to do that on the pitch and with subs.’
On Jesus’ eye-catching individual performance, Arteta added: ‘There’s an unbelievable player and the bigger the game, the more comfortable he plays. He deserves the man of the match award.’
Are Arsenal the favourites to win the Champions League?
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Yes
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No
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