Work to be done to make group stages, says Henry

THIERRY HENRY says it’s “vital” that Arsenal have secured another crack at the Champions League next season — but warned work remains to be done to guarantee a place back among the elite clubs of Europe.

Automatic passage into the group stages is not yet secure — although victory at the Stade de France would hand the Gunners a top seeding.

Henry looked back at the fate suffered by Everton as a case in point, the Toffees having finished fourth in the Premiership, only to then be knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by Villarreal, whom Arsenal would eventually face in the semi-finals.

The Arsenal captain declared: “You have to remember what happened to Everton last year. They were buzzing, and afterwards they were not then in the Champions League.

“We are in the qualification round, and it is more than vital for the club, but at the moment we are not in the Champions League. Of course if you win it, then you are straight in, but at the moment it was vital to grab what we could because we had dropped so many points.”

Arsenal’s resurgence has at least settled the argument about which English clubs would participate in Europe’s top competition next season.

Henry noted: “I heard so many people saying ‘what a shame. If they win the Champions League, then maybe Tottenham can appeal’. I was always saying to myself at home ‘but they are not fourth yet. The league has not finished. They do not need to change anything because Tottenham are not there’.”

Henry, 28, savoured the final Highbury moments on Sunday, revealing: “I said to Ashley [Cole] to come with me and just take it in, because sometimes you do not remember all the emotions because you play there year after year. We just did not want to leave. It was such a special place.”