Arsenal earned a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Declan Rice’s late equaliser cancelling out Harry Kane’s penalty.

The Gunners delivered a performance that answered some of the criticism of their style after the narrow win at Nottingham Forest, but the night came at a cost. Inside the first 10 minutes, Bukayo Saka was forced off with a quad injury, and Mikel Arteta admitted afterwards that he is concerned and that it doesn’t look good.

Before the game, though, Thierry Henry was asked about the criticism of Saka’s numbers, and he suggested Arteta’s approach might be part of the reason he doesn’t always look at his best for Arsenal.

Thierry Henry defends Bukayo Saka

Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry made it clear he’s tired of the Saka question coming up. “Every time people see me, they think I’m working for Arsenal,” he said. “‘What’s wrong with Bukayo?’ I’m like, my name is Thierry. There is nothing wrong.”

To prove his point, Henry compared Saka’s numbers with those of David Beckham. In the Premier League, Saka has 63 goals and 50 assists in 233 appearances, while Beckham managed 62 goals and 80 assists in 265. Henry admitted Saka has “way less assists”, but pointed out that Beckham had the likes of Dwight Yorke and Ruud van Nistelrooy to aim for. For England, Saka comes out on top: 19 goals and 16 assists in his first 59 caps, compared with Beckham’s 11 goals and 15 assists.

“The point is there is nothing wrong, that people want more of him,” he said. “I can understand that when you see the greats like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, they want more from themselves. But always the narrative every time of, ‘What’s wrong with Bukayo? What’s happening with Bukayo?’ Whether he wins, he doesn’t win, he starts, he doesn’t start.”

The Arsenal legend accepted that Saka looks different for his club than for his country, and he thinks Arteta’s demands are part of the reason. “It’s not the same Bukayo that we see with England, and we saw two and a half years ago playing for the Arsenal. Why? Because Arsenal before were a bit more flowing, going forward,” he said.

“When you’re being asked to defend a certain way, when your coach is asking you to do that a certain way… when he plays for England, I see a very good Bukayo Saka going forward. So is it a Bukayo Saka thing, or is he also doing what he’s asked to do, which you have to respect?”

Henry pointed out that Arsenal’s defenders, not their attackers, tend to dominate the end-of-season awards, and he believes being an academy graduate adds to the expectation on Saka’s shoulders. He wasn’t letting him off completely, though. “He can do better, but he has a job to do with England that’s different with Arsenal,” he added. “And by the way, he won with Arsenal.”

Saka has four goals this season. Arteta challenged him earlier this month to score more, and he has been taking up more central positions as a result. Arsenal will now be hoping his injury doesn’t stop that progress for long.