Thierry Henry has claimed that Mikel Arteta will now be ‘annoyed’ by his recent comments about Liverpool and VAR.
Arteta was absolutely furious in the wake of Arsenal’s 1-0 loss against Newcastle United last weekend. Upset that the only goal of the game had been allowed to stand, the Spanish coach went on an explosive post-match rant about the Premier League officials.
It was in stark contrast to his reaction to Liverpool’s VAR debacle at Tottenham Hotspur back in September. Back then, Arteta was keen to emphasise that ‘mistakes happen.’ Now, speaking on CBS Sports Golazo’s Champions League coverage last night, Arsenal legend Henry has weighed in.
Henry speaks out on Arteta
“The manager behaved how the manager would behave at the end of the game,” said the 44-year-old. “I’ve been in that situation where you feel like your team got robbed. You don’t look at that opposition.
“For me, I think Kai Havertz should have been sent off for the tackle which sparked the game, because after that it became a chaotic game. But at the end of the game you need to understand when a coach goes to speak to the press he can’t cool off, it’s very difficult for him not to get upset.
“What I think was annoying for him was what he said about the Liverpool game at Tottenham. You can see ‘they are trying to make the best decision, we need to understand that mistakes happen’. Then when it happens to your team, you see what he said and it’s something that you always do as a coach. You defend your team and your players.
“Where I was surprised was to mention it three or four days later. After the club made a statement, whether you like it or you don’t, you could have left it there and said look the club talked let’s move on and concentrate on the game against Sevilla.
“I don’t think it was necessary to reiterate that three or four days later.”
Arteta sees the light
Given how often poor decisions tend to be happening in the Premier League these days, the reaction to the Luis Diaz incident in September is still baffling.
Managers like Arteta had a great chance to set the record straight then. Having not been the team on the receiving end of things, the likes of Arsenal could have responded in a measured and supportive way.
Instead, they decided to turn the other cheek. This was Liverpool’s problem, it seemed, nothing to do with us.
Having inevitably felt the rough end of the stick just a few weeks later, they are now forced to react in a heated – and somewhat embarrassing – way. There’s no strength in attacking from such a position.
It now merely looks like what it is – self-interest.
What Liverpool were trying to do was perhaps perceived in the same way by Arteta and co, but it never was. Frsutrated at poor decisions being handed out with such regularity, the Reds were genuinely trying to effect change.
Had Arteta come out in support of that, his rant post-Newcastle would have held more weight. If even someone as rooted in Arsenal as Henry can see that, then perhaps it’s time for the Gunners boss to take a step back and think about his words. Not that it will change anything now.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
