Henry fires back at Arteta critics with truth as Arsenal hire Liverpool guru

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has explained the reasons the Gunners were right to hire throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark, who previously worked at Liverpool

Thierry Henry has shed light on why Arsenal made the right call in appointing throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark. Gronnemark revealed earlier this month that he’s started working with Mikel Arteta’s side during their push for silverware.

The Gunners are leading the race for the Premier League title and sit top of the Champions League table as the only team boasting a perfect record following seven league phase fixtures.

Gronnemark previously spent time at Liverpool, forming part of Jurgen Klopp’s backroom team that secured the Premier League crown in 2020. The throw-in specialist has also had stints at Brentford, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund throughout his career.

Taking to social media earlier this month, Gronnemark shared an image on X – formerly known as Twitter – from outside Arsenal’s training facility, confirming he’s now with the North London club, reports football.london.

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“It’s out. Yes, I coach Arsenal,” Gronnemark wrote.

“Both in the ‘Long, Fast and Clever throw-in. No more comments at the moment.”

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Arsenal icon Henry has now clarified why he understands the Gunners’ decision to bring in Gronnemark and why he believes it could prove important over time.

“No, not at all,” Henry told Betway when quizzed if football is becoming overly complicated. “I think we’re not doing enough in football, compared to other sports.

“Why is there only a specific coach for only one position – goalkeeping? Is defending not an art? Is being a midfielder, making assists, defending as a team, being a striker not an art?

“When a striker is struggling mentally to find the net, can you not have someone to speak to him or teach him something?

“We all know that specialised coaching works, because without set pieces Arsenal wouldn’t be top of the league, because our top goalscorer is on five goals. So why don’t we have position coaches?

“I went to the NBA game in London, there were 10 coaches behind the bench. They have more coaches than players. In football, it seems like we think we know everything.

“We know those details matter. Sometimes you can unlock a game on set pieces. You can win it or lose on a throw-in.”

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