Thierry Henry: Arsenal must make a statement against Manchester United

Arsenal face Manchester United at the Emirates

THIERRY HENRY believes Arsenal must make a statement if they are to defeat Manchester United today.

The Gunners face the Red Devils off the back of a mid-week Champions League defeat to Olympiakos. 

And Henry says Arsenal now have an opportunity to rectify that defeat by getting a result against their Premier League rivals in the "special game".

"This is the chance for the Gunners to rectify what happened and make a statement to show people they can be a big part of what matters at the top of the league this season," Henry wrote in his column for The Sun.

"It is a special game. As far as I’m concerned, in terms of the names of the two clubs, it will always be 'the game'. 

"Maybe it isn’t so big any more because they’re no longer the top two. For the past few years they haven’t been competing at the very top.

"But this season they are both fighting for the title and it means this game has gone back to what it was.

 

"For me it was such a big game because we were the two teams fighting for the title most of the time. Everyone knew it was about Arsenal or United.

"That made those games extra special and it became a battle, both outside and on the field.

"There was a massive respect between the two teams, even if it might not have looked that way."