Are Arsenal Champions League Favorites? Henry: Have You Seen PSG’s Pressing? Almost Impossible to Stop

Henry believes his former club will eventually have a chance to lift the Champions League trophy, but he also warned that defending champions Paris Saint-Germain are almost an “impossible” team to deal with.

“Have you seen the intensity of Paris Saint-Germain’s pressing? This team is almost unstoppable,” Henry said in an interview with The Athletic. “But Luis Enrique spent a full five to six months building the team into what it is today. People often overlook one thing: players have to be willing to follow the coach’s instructions. It is rarely discussed, but it is a crucial point.

“As a coach, if the players under you are willing to carry out all of your plans, even if their talent is only decent, the team can still achieve good results. But once players show even slight resistance, things become extremely difficult.”

“Now everyone says Paris Saint-Germain are a strong side. But two years ago, when players such as Mbappe, Neymar and Messi all left the club, everyone was saying: ‘Oh my God, where is this team going from here?’

“Back then, everyone thought ‘Liverpool know how to win titles, and they were bound to win the league again,’” Henry recalled the public opinion before the start of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

But just two weeks later, problems emerged one after another and the situation changed dramatically. When Arne Slot was initially in charge, the team made no signings but still won the league title; after strengthening the squad through transfers, the team completely collapsed.

“So whenever someone asks me ‘Who are the challengers? Who has the ability to compete for the title? If this player transfers, does the team have the ability to compete?’, my answer is always ‘We need to wait and see. Give Maresca time to build the team, and give Xabi Alonso time as well.’”

“I have coaching experience. People always joke with me, ‘Thierry, your coaching career only lasted one and a half minutes!’ But even so, I understand this clearly: during the Olympics, having only two weeks to bring together a group of players who had never played together and would not continue working together after the event, and to establish a team style and tactical philosophy, is far from easy.”

“That is why I say, give coaches time and wait to see how things develop.”