Thierry Henry has urged Arsenal to give new manager Mikel Arteta time, especially after the most recent setback by the suspension of football.
Our club had finally strung three consecutive league wins together for the first time this season before the worldwide pandemic hit, which saw all training and fixtures suspended indefinitely.
The government and FA are believed to be working tirelessly to find a safe way for the campaign to be completed, with talk that the current and new season may well have to be played behind closed doors, but whatever happens, Arteta’s work so far this term cannot be discredited.
Should football return with our form disrupted, it would be harsh to judge our new boss solely on these new alien surroundings which will be implemented to end the season, should it return of course.
Former star Henry has backed up our new coach, reiterating calls for Arteta to be given time to implement his changes, while praising the work that he had been doing prior to the suspension of action.
Henry insisted: “It’s a tough one because Mikel Arteta was getting there and getting them to a certain place.
“You could see the organisation, they were more compact and difficult to beat then this happened.
“I can tell you as a coach now it’s not the news you want to deal with, because you want to carry on with what you’re doing.
“Keep the players with you, talking to them. It’s better to train and try to see what you can do after training at the weekend.
“It depends on who is going to leave, who is not going to leave, who is going to come, also, and we don’t know about that.
“I just want Arsenal to do well, to make sure they can compete. I wish them all the best all the time and Mikel Arteta too, because that’s a tough job as everyone knows, but we have to give him time.”
Could the pandemic undo some of the fine work that Arteta had done? Is there any doubt that the Arsenal board are backing the Spaniard in the long-term?
Patrick
