Thierry Henry has delivered his honest verdict on Arsenal’s chances of progressing to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after losing 1-0 to FC Porto.
The north London side’s Round of 16 curse once again came back to haunt them as the Gunners endured one of their worst away performances of the season, with Porto scoring late to win the leg.
With Arsenal not making it to the final eight of the Champions League in 14 years, many are already predicting Mikel Arteta’s side to once again bottle it and crash out of Europe’s premier club competition at an early stage.
Thierry Henry backs Arsenal despite 1-0 Porto loss last night
Yet speaking on CBS Sports’ Golazo, club legend Henry gave his verdict on if Arsenal can still progress, with the former striker still confident that the Gunners can get the job done.
Arsenal have made the Emirates Stadium a fortress in the last 18 months, and the north London side will need to win by two clear goals if they’re to avoid another elimination from Europe by a Portuguese side under Arteta.
And the Premier League title contenders already have one optimistic fan in Henry, who has previously tipped Arsenal to go far in the Champions League this season.
The all-time record goalscorer said when asked about his nerves going into the second-leg: “Roll the tape and you will see that I am not feeling sick. There is a return leg, I’m relaxed.”
Arsenal have to believe they can create UEFA Champions League history
Arsenal were thrown off by Porto’s game plan last night, with the Portuguese giants playing the game to a tee and coming away with a deserved lead going into next month’s second leg.
It was a game few fans would have expected, yet Arsenal now have a mission on their hands to progress to the next round of the Champions League, and that starts with real internal belief.
The Gunners have the advantage of playing at home in the second-leg, and the squad and the fans need to be as fired up as they possibly can for the fixture, which could be the biggest in Arsenal’s season yet.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
