Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has claimed Mikel Arteta was "hurt" by the team's failed Premier League title bid in the 2022-23 season - and believes the Spaniard has made the Gunners more negative as a result. Arteta's men looked certain to win their first Premier League title since 2003-04 in the season before last after racking up an eight point lead over Manchester City with ten games to go. The Gunners were playing some impressive football under Arteta and looked like worthy champions, before a late-season collapse saw Pep Guardiola's men overtake them to win the league by five points.

Arsenal ran City close again the following campaign as they amassed a total of 89 points, but were narrowly pipped to the crown as the Sky Blues picked up 91 points. Now Arsenal are bidding to finally overcome their hoodoo by overhauling leaders Liverpool this season and they faced City at the Emirates on Sunday, but Henry believes their failures have had a damaging impact psychologically. "I think, the first title that we lost against Man City, it did hurt a lot of people at the club, especially Mikel," he told Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal's clash. "You saw that he went in big games in different way. Before it was all fancy, it became more let's not concede.

"It's now a team that's very good at set pieces but it's not the same way. [Martin] Odegaard doesn't run the show anymore. The ball doesn't go to him often it goes way quicker on the wing at times to find a corner or a free kick.". Henry is one of the greatest players in Arsenal's history after scoring 226 goals in 370 appearances for the north London side, helping them win the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times. He was part of an Arsenal side playing breathless football under Arsene Wenger.

While fans have been treated to some entertaining performances under Arteta - the former France international has questioned why Arsenal have focused on grinding out results rather than pushing on to win them. "It's about the crucial moments in games," he added. "Last year against Villa, this year against Brighton, I saw a. team that was thinking much more about Mitoma than winning the game. Winners win.

"Same against Villa. In the 67th minute, you take off Odegaard and put on Jorginho. It's 0-0. The big coaches in history finish with four strikers and try to win the game. I think that's something we don't do well at times. Sometimes we're thinking more about 'let's not lose it' rather than 'lets win it'.". Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.