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Arsenal great Thierry Henry has offered a stark reality check to his former club, describing reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain as almost ‘unplayable’ in the Champions League. Even though the Gunners have made a flawless beginning to both their European and domestic campaigns, the Frenchman feels the tactical progress made in Paris under Luis Enrique has created a huge obstacle for any side with title ambitions.

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Henry warns about PSG’s pressing strength

Arsenal have opened their Champions League campaign in efficient fashion, claiming a hard-earned 1-0 win over Napoli through a late goal from Martin Odegaard. But Henry is already looking beyond that result to the possible dangers standing between Mikel Arteta and European success.

The former Gunners forward has been especially impressed by the tactical structure Enrique has built at the Parc des Princes, cautioning that the French champions have reached an intensity level that very few opponents can live with.

Speaking about the defensive work rate and organisation of the Ligue 1 title-holders, Henry underlined the exact danger they present to the rest of Europe. “You see how PSG press? They’re unplayable,” Henry told The Athletic.

“But it took Luis Enrique a good five to six months to get that team going. People do forget that players need to be coachable. That’s a massive thing that people do not talk a lot about. If you’re a coach and your players are willing to do everything you ask them to do, and they have a tiny bit of quality, you can go places. If they rebel a tiny bit, it can be more difficult.”

Life after the superstar era

PSG’s transformation has been striking given the departures of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe across the last two summer windows. A lot of people expected the club to suffer after losing their ‘Galactico’ front three, but Henry believes the move towards a more united, youth-led squad has in fact made them even more dangerous.

“It’s easy to say now that PSG is a good team,” Henry explained. “When all those guys left two years ago, everyone thought, ‘Oh my god, where are they going to go from that?’ Then they got Bradley Barcola, and then they got Desire Doue. At that time, you’re not thinking those guys are going to do what they did. But because Enrique is so sound on how he likes to play, they have done it.”

He added: “Do you remember what Ousmane Dembele said? He said, ‘If you don’t run at Paris Saint-Germain, you’re out’. Simple as that.”

Henry calls for caution over early-season title talk

While discussing how unpredictable elite-level football can be, Henry pointed to the 2025-26 season to back up his view on early title predictions. “Everyone was like, ‘Liverpool know how to win. I don’t see how they’re not going to win the title again’,” Henry said.

He added: “Two weeks after, it went south for so many reasons. When they didn’t buy anyone, they won the league with Arne Slot. They went on to buy people, they imploded. That’s why when people ask me, ‘Who is a challenger, who is a contender? Do you think if that player goes there, they can challenge?’, I say, ‘Hey, we have to wait. Let Maresca work, let Xabi work’.”

Patience needed in the coaching process

The Arsenal legend, who recently coached the French national team during the Olympics, understands better than most how complicated it is to build a successful side. He urged fans and pundits alike to allow managers enough time to put their ideas in place before making judgments on how far their teams can go.

“Because I coached. People would tell me, ‘Thierry, you coached for one minute and a half!’ But still, it is not easy to put the team together during the Olympics in two weeks; a team that never played together before and will never play together after, to build an identity and a philosophy in two weeks,” Henry added. “This is why I say let the coach work. Let’s see.”