He had time to get a nine, he had time: Thierry Henry blames Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta

The Gunners will look to acquire a centre-forward in the summer.

Mikel Arteta has come under fire from Thierry Henry for failing to buy a true forward. The Arsenal legend claims that the manager has “had time to get a No.9.”

This season, the north London team once again came in second in the title race as Liverpool won the Premier League. In Arteta’s five-and-a-half-year tenure, the club have just won the FA Cup and Community Shield.

The Gunners’ former striker acknowledged that fitness issues had contributed to a lack of success, but he cited the absence of a number nine as a major problem.

Thierry Henry stated on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast: “When you look at the injuries and you look at the players that came, OK, he brought players – he got [Raheem] Sterling when everyone wanted a nine. He had time to get a nine, he had time.”

“I’m not the coach, I don’t know how the discussion… everyone has been screaming for a nine – apart from when we win, by the way. When we beat Real Madrid, we didn’t need a nine. No, you do need a nine.”

Thierry Henry also questioned Arsenal’s project and their inability to play in any major final. He said: ”Manchester United have played in five finals in the last five years, the United that everyone laughs at, whereas for Arsenal in the last three years of building, they’ve not reached a final.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal have been linked to Sporting Lisbon forward Viktor Gyokeres, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak on numerous occasions. In the case of Isak, the Magpies’ UEFA Champions League qualification is probably going to make things much more difficult.

Thierry Henry, who won the FIFA World Cup with France in 1998, thinks Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, a former Manchester City striker, may be the solution to Arsenal’s No.9.

He said: “One of my favourite nines out there at the minute is Julian Alvarez. We’ve been talking about it, putting pressure, playing alone, low, whatever you want to do. Did you see the free-kick he scored the other day?

“He can hold the ball alone, he played at the Olympic Games, he played in the Copa America. I don’t hear him saying, ‘I’m tired’ or not tired. Hopefully nothing bad is going to happen to him. He’s played everything and the way he plays, I just like him.”

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