Arsenal can’t pull elite players —Henry

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has claimed Arsenal do not attract the best players in the world and questioned the pulling power of his former club.

Henry believes the gap between his days playing in north London and the current situation at the Emirates continues to grow.

And the former Gunner said that Arsenal now lack the ability to draw in elite players.

‘It kills me to say this as an Arsenal fan, but my old club are not an attractive destination any more for the top, top players,’ he wrote in his Sun column.

‘Why would the leading players who can have a real impact in the Premier League and improve that Arsenal team come to the Emirates?’

The Frenchman compared Arsenal to other sides challenging for Champions League spots and insisted not playing in Europe’s elite competition this season did not make Chelsea or Manchester United any less attractive for some of the world’s best.

‘Not being in the Champions League didn’t stop N’Golo Kante joining Chelsea from Leicester last summer,’ he wrote.

‘It didn’t stop Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining Manchester United. Kante was the hottest thing on the market last summer — and he chose to join Chelsea, not Arsenal who also wanted him.’

So why not Arsenal? A great stadium, a fantastic city and there is money available – not to mention their terrific qualification record in the Champions League.

‘To be attractive again they have to win titles again,’ Henry concluded.