Henry: I Always Have Doubts About Players Who Excel in the Bundesliga – The Premier League Doesn’t Have as Much Space

In the 12th round North London Derby of the Premier League, Arsenal defeated Tottenham 4-1. Xavi Simons came on as a substitute in the second half but put in a poor performance, a stark contrast to his 10 goals and 6 assists in 25 games for RB Leipzig last season.

Thierry Henry recently talked about Simons’ display and stated that he always has questions about players who shine in Germany.

Henry: “It’s not easy to perform well immediately after joining a new team. We can see Florian Wirtz’s performance at Liverpool. I always have doubts about players who do well in Germany. Of course, this is just my opinion – it doesn’t mean they can’t succeed in other leagues.”

“I’m just saying that the Bundesliga is very open. If you’re fast, you’ll get plenty of chances to score and assist. But in the Premier League, people can match your pace, so it becomes much harder.”

“Do you think managers nowadays let opponents dribble freely? Or do they want to control everything to ensure they don’t concede counterattacks? If the opposing team sits deep, it’s not easy to create chances. Look at Arsenal – they don’t get many open-play opportunities, but they score a lot from set pieces.”

“I don’t want to sound clichéd, but you have to find a way to score. Because defenses are much deeper now, there are far fewer chances than in my era. They don’t push up, so attacking space is limited. If you don’t take risks, what can you do? If you miss the chances you get, you’re in trouble.”