Thierry Henry's controversial analysis of former club Arsenal prior to their 7-1 trouncing of PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night has emerged.
Arsenal produced a record Champions League away victory in the round of 16 first leg, with Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard (2), Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori all on target in the rout.
The Gunners shocked the footballing world with the resounding result against a PSV side who had beaten Liverpool and Juventus in this season's Champions League.
The scoreline came as a surprise to many given Arsenal's difficulties in recent weeks, where they had failed to score in three of their last four games in all competitions.
Advert
They lost important ground on Liverpool in the Premier League title race as a result and are now 13 points behind Arne Slot's side.
Arsenal have been ravaged with injuries to a number of key players this season but speaking ahead of the PSV game, Henry scolded his former employers for their style of play and lacking creativity.
He also aimed digs over the amount of injuries suffered in the rant.
"We know Havertz isn't playing now, we know that Odegaard was injured at the beginning of the season, but this is the same team," he said on CBS Sports' Golazo show.
"How come now you don't create anymore? Yes, you score goals on set pieces but suddenly you don't anymore, you don't score goals.
"Set-pieces are great and they bail us out in a lot of games. Why I'm worried as a fan is that we don't create as much as we were doing before. The first year, when we nearly won the league, we surprised them (other teams), and then they knew what you're about. Along the way, we lost what we were about in terms of playing."
Micah Richards got involved and asked Henry to explain what the solution would be to their problems, to which the former Barcelona star simply replied: "Ask Mikel".
Henry responds to scathing analysis
Henry was made to look a little silly with Arsenal's dominant display and he did then respond to his earlier criticism in a segment afterwards.
The former Monaco and Montreal Impact manager continued with comments on the recent run but did praise the scintillating display in Eindhoven.
"We didn't play well against West Ham," Henry said.
"We didn't play that well against Leicester, Merino came on. I thought at times, especially against Newcastle, the games were not good.
"Sometimes you have to go with what you see when the team is not playing well. Tonight they were magnificent. Eindhoven was pretty average and it was a great night for Arsenal.
"Can you do that when you're going to play Real Madrid or Atletico, can you have the same impact? Being dominant on and off the ball. But tonight was magnificent."
Arsenal are back in action on Sunday when they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Topics: Thierry Henry, Arsenal, Champions League
Josh Lawless