Thierry Henry has told Arsenal supporters to 'accept' Mikel Arteta's style of play ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid. The Gunners are currently three points clear of Manchester City in the Premier League and have reached the final four of the Champions League for the second consecutive season.
Arteta Under Fire Despite Success
Despite the team's strong position, Arteta has faced criticism over Arsenal's playing style in recent weeks. The team has failed to score more than one goal in a game in each of their last seven matches, leading to questions from some quarters about the approach.
Speaking ahead of the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League semi-final in Madrid on Wednesday night, Henry insisted that the result is more important than the performance against Diego Simeone's side. The Arsenal legend questioned why supporters are calling for Arteta to change his methods.
Henry's Pragmatic View
'Atletico lost at The Emirates, I think it was 4-0 in the league phase, which doesn't tell you a lot but it tells you it's a game where we created, actually,' Henry told CBS Sports. 'But it will be different. The win, Arsenal against Newcastle, in terms of how we played wasn't outstanding but it's way better to go into that game with a win against Newcastle.'
'So let's see what's going to happen tomorrow. It's not so much what I want to see, people are expecting or wanting Arsenal to play a certain way now, they didn't the whole year. Why do you want them now to just go forward and start to create?'
'They play a certain way, Mikel Arteta plays a certain way, we're strong on set-pieces, solid, we don't create a lot. I would just like to see a win, that will do for me and bring something to The Emirates.'
'You have to be pragmatic sometimes. You cannot always be Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, we play a different way. I think people have to accept the fact that Mikel Arteta goes about the game like that and hopefully we can win.'
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