Manchester United Must Beat Arsenal – Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry has told Sky Sports that Manchester United’s game against Arsenal on Saturday is a “must-win” for Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho has not had the smoothest of rides since taking over United in the summer and his side head into the weekend’s Premier League clash against the Gunners sitting sixth in the table.

Arsenal can move to the top of the standings with a victory on Saturday, albeit potentially just for a few hours — a result which would leave United nine points off the summit.

“It’s ‘must-win’ for United if they want to stay close to the top,” Henry said. “It’s going to be a tough game for both teams. What Manchester United are we going to get, what Arsenal are we going to get?

“United have had some difficult games before the Swansea game while people were questioning Arsenal about how well they can do against a big team. But they answered that against Chelsea at home, who are admittedly a lot different now in the way they play. It’s interesting to see how they’re going to behave and play against United, especially with what happened [a defeat at Old Trafford] last season.

“It’s difficult to call these games after international duties. Who is going to come back fit? Who is actually going to come back? Maybe it wasn’t ideal for United to have the break after a victory [against Swansea] as they had to go away and then come back.”

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has never recorded a league victory over current United and former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in 11 previous matches.

Wenger has a chance to bring an end to that run on Saturday, with the Frenchman having lost to his rival on five previous occasions in the league and the other six games ending in draws.

“Can Arsene Wenger win a game against Jose Mourinho in the league? That’s what everyone wants to see,” Henry said.

“Obviously Mourinho does something tactically that stops Wenger from winning. But Arsene has had a lot of opportunities to win a game against a side Mourinho was coaching — I am talking about the league — so when is it going to happen?”