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Arsenal's Henry aims to control emotions

LONDON (Reuters) -- Thierry Henry is adamant Arsenal will not get carried away by the amount of praise being heaped on them.

The English double winners extended their unbeaten run in the English premier league to 29 matches on Saturday as they crushed Leeds United 4-1 at Elland Road.

They are two points ahead of second-placed Liverpool at the top of the league, are favorites to retain the title, and critics have delighted in the manner of their recent victories.

But Henry told reporters: "We do not have to try and be big-headed about it all.

"We're just trying to play well, and at the moment things are working.

"The win at Leeds was just three points -- nothing more, nothing less. You have to be there at the end [of the season], so at the moment we still have to keep it going."

Henry, the France striker who scored his sixth goal of the league campaign against Leeds, refused to be drawn on the comments made by Gary Neville in a British newspaper on Saturday.

Neville, the Manchester United and England defender, told the Daily Mirror that Arsenal had not improved as a team since 1998, when they won the league and FA Cup double.

Henry, who joined Arsenal in August 1999, said: "I just want to talk about my team.

"We still want to improve, we always do. You need to be there at the end, and then you can talk about it."

The win at Leeds followed another dazzling display in midweek, when Arsene Wenger's side beat PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in the Champions League.

Achieved nothing

Even Henry admitted he was surprised by their superb display on Saturday, but insisted he and his team mates realise that pride can come before a fall.

"It felt strange [against Leeds]," he said.

"We were thinking it was going to be tough at the beginning because we played on Wednesday and got back very late from Eindhoven so we did not have much time to prepare for Leeds.

"In the end we actually started better than them and got the chances to score. But it's no good doing that only once or twice, you have to be consistent.

"We won the double last season but we have achieved nothing yet.

"I still know what it feels like to lose...I lost the World Cup [with France earlier this year] and I do not want to say we will never lose again with Arsenal -- maybe we will lose against Auxerre on Wednesday or against Sunderland [next] Sunday."

Arsenal, who have not lost in the league since December 18 last year, face the French side away in the Champions League and Sunderland at home in the premier league on October 6.

Captain Patrick Vieira was quoted as saying earlier this month that he was tired and needed a rest, and Henry added: "I'm a bit exhausted.

"We have played [two] games away from home and that's never easy. There's not a lot of time to [relax], as usual you just have to go out there and do the job.

"The only thing I'm thinking now is to have a good rest."

Vieira insisted his own comments had been blown out of proportion and Henry will look to enjoy some rest on Sunday and Monday before flying out with Arsenal on Tuesday for their match at Auxerre on Wednesday.

Robson: Newcastle short of Champions League experience

NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -- Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson says a lack of Champions League experience is hampering his team's progress in the prestigious club competition.

The English premier league side will face Italian champions Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, still searching for their first points in Group E after successive defeats by Dynamo Kiev and Feyenoord.

"We are short of experience," Robson told reporters on Sunday.

"I was just reading the other day that Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt, who I think is comparatively young, has appeared in the Champions League more than 50 times.

"That is the difference. We have played just two games and there will be other players with more experience in the Champions League than Nicky Butt.

"So this is a different challenge and it is a different stage. But we are not far behind. We lost 1-0 to Feyenoord but it was a cruel night when we did not play badly.

"I am conscious that we must get points on the board and we are probably facing our most difficult game in the group.

"Juventus have just thrashed Dynamo Kiev who beat us 2-0 in Kiev but football is quite unpredictable sometimes which is fortunate for us. We are confident and we are not afraid," he added.

Robson believes Juventus, who won the Champions League in 1996 and the European Cup in 1985, are one of the best teams in Europe.

He said: "If you win the Italian championship you have to be, there or thereabouts, the best side in Europe.

"In the Italian league, like it is in Spain and England, you have to be quite a marvelous team to win it. They have some star names, of course, and when you have Marcelo Salas and David Trezeguet on the bench, then that tells you something.

"But we don't consider this will be an ordeal but rather a marvellous experience for us and one that we should enjoy. We will fight and tug away and just see what happens."

Robson will be without the services of striker Craig Bellamy who has been banned for three Champions League matches after head-butting a Dynamo Kiev player.

Robson's side moved up to tenth position in the premier league with a 2-0 win at Birmingham City on Saturday but the former England manager is now demanding his players concentrate fully on the Champions League.

"We have three more league points in the bag now and do not have a premiership game until next Saturday so we will have four days to recover after Tuesday's game which means we can focus on the Juventus game.

"I have told the players that what we must not do is fall between two stools. We must be focused in both campaigns.

"Now we can forget about the Birmingham game, forget about the West Bromwich game [on Saturday] and see if we can improve our situation and just keep at it."

 

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