GOAL

Arsene Wenger has hit back at Thierry Henry after the former Arsenal striker criticised Olivier Giroud.

The former Arsenal striker criticised his countryman after the 1-0 loss to Chelsea in April but the manager says the ex-France international was being urged to be controversial

Henry, in his new role as a Sky Sports pundit, claimed that the Gunners need to sign four players before they can be considered genuine contenders to win the Premier League title after they were beaten 1-0 by newly crowned champions Chelsea.

Henry also rubbished the idea that Giroud could fire Arsenal to the title, saying: "I think Giroud is doing extremely well but can you win the league with him? I wouldn't think so.

"He does a job and he does it ever so well but you can't win the league."

Wenger, though, says that Henry's critique of his countryman was wide of the mark and drew comparisons between the 28-year-old and Arsenal's all-time record goalscorer.

"I think he's wrong," the Gunners manager told reporters. "He's paid for that. We know all the system now of the modern media, especially on TV. I know how it works. They push you to be controversial because they give you a lot of money.

"I can accept an opinion but the comment on Giroud was a bit more wrong, especially because I heard the same thing being said about Nicolas Anelka, about Thierry Henry himself and about Robin van Persie - and they all became world-class players themselves."