France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has given tips on how the English side could get the upper hand on the La Liga leaders. Arsenal lie third in the Premier League and were held to a 0-0 draw by Hull City in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Henry did reach the final of the 2006 UEFA Champions League with Arsenal but lost to Barcelona 2-1 despite taking the lead in the final. Arsenal met Barcelona in 2011 and were knocked out by the Catalan club in the last 16, despite winning the first leg 2-1.
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Speaking in his column for The Sun, Henry wrote: "They have to accept they will probably only have 30 per cent possession and must be so efficient when they do get the ball. The whole team must defend more as a unit and the wingers must tuck in and play more in their own half.
"You very rarely get the chance to play against Barcelona so you must be prepared to sacrifice parts of your attacking game, home and away.
"Arsenal must be brave on the ball. They need to stay compact, play on the counter and score every time they get in their penalty area.
"They can’t be exposed in the middle and must force Barcelona to run back 60 yards before they get the ball. If you allow them to stay in your half for wave after wave, it becomes almost impossible to defend."
Arsenal have never won the UEFA Champions League in their history and will be looking to have a repeat run as they did in 2006. Henry won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with Arsenal before moving to Barcelona in 2007. The French striker won two La Liga titles and the Champions League title with the Catalan giants during his three-year spell in Barcelona.
He also provided tips on how to deal with the MSN trio:
“You can’t try to man mark Leo and you can’t put two or three defenders on him because that just leaves more room for Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta and Turan to rip you apart.
You have to stop Barcelona as a team. And for that to become possible, you need to have a perfect day and get very lucky.”
