Thierry Henry has leapt to the defence of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke ahead of Arsenal's Premier League trip to Liverpool on Sunday, insisting the pair are making a real impact for Mikel Arteta and are not passengers in this squad.
The Arsenal legend was speaking after weeks in which both wide players have taken criticism from sections of the fanbase, even as they have been asked to carry the attack. With Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis both sidelined through injury — Saka was forced off injured at Bayern Munich earlier this month — Arteta has had little choice but to lean on Eze on the left and Madueke on the right, as football.london reported.
Henry's verdict: impact, not passengers
Asked by Betway whether Eze and Madueke could benefit from a longer run in the team, Henry pointed to exactly what the pair have already delivered. "This is why you have a strong squad," he said. "Mikel Arteta knows that some players will be missing, some will get injured, and then others will have their time. When they have a chance to show what they can do, they need to show it, and Eze and Madueke have been showing it. Eze scored against Bayern, Madueke came on and scored against Nottingham Forest, so they are having an impact."
Henry went further, as Daily AFC also reported: "Players are coming off the bench for Arsenal and scoring. That shows you that they aren't passengers, and usually they come on and change the game. That's the luxury of having good players on the bench, and that's why Mikel Arteta is calm when he's asked questions about players like Eze and why they aren't playing so much." Eze's goal came in the 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich, where he replaced the injured Saka and scored, while Madueke's winner settled the 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest.
Why the pair have had to step up
The context matters. Arsenal sold Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli in the summer and decided against signing recognised cover on either flank, a gamble that left the squad exposed the moment Saka and Tzolis were both ruled out. Madueke, who endured a difficult first season at the club after joining from Chelsea in 2025, has been asked to be the direct, one-v-one threat on the right, while Eze — naturally a central playmaker — has been shifted wide left. Neither role is the easy version of the job, and both players have still produced decisive moments. There was better news for Arteta this week, with Declan Rice and Madueke expected to be fit for the trip to Anfield, even if Riccardo Calafiori remains a doubt.
So what: Anfield is the real test
Henry's backing raises the stakes rather than lowering them. Sunday's visit to the Premier League champions is the biggest examination yet of Arsenal's reshaped attack: Liverpool away, with the title race watching, is precisely the game in which "impact from the bench" has to become influence from the first minute. If Eze and Madueke start together at Anfield, there will be nowhere to hide — and, as Henry would no doubt add, no better place to prove the critics wrong. A goal or a decisive performance there would end the passengers debate in one afternoon; a quiet one will restart it by Monday morning.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Henry is right, and the numbers of the last fortnight prove it — when Arsenal needed a goal in Munich and a winner at Forest, it was Eze and Madueke who produced them, not the players the critics keep demanding instead. Squad players who decide matches in the Champions League and the Premier League are not passengers; they are the reason a title challenge survives an injury list. The remaining question is consistency, and Anfield on Sunday will answer it.
Do you agree with Henry — have Eze and Madueke done enough to keep their places when Saka returns? Let us know in the comments.
