Around The Games - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 13
Thierry Henry regrets not getting to play with two star Premier League forwards (Picture: Getty Images)
Thierry Henry played with a long list of great players in his immense career, but there are two he would loved to have called teammates in the Premier League but never had the chance to.
The Frenchman won league titles in England with Arsenal and Spain with Barcelona, while also lifting the World Cup with France in 1998.
There wasn’t much Henry didn’t tick off during his playing days, but he says there are two fellow forwards that he would love to have played alongside.
Chelsea hero Didier Drogba is one of his two choices, as Henry fantasised over a strike partnership with the Ivorian.
He didn’t have to imagine a partnership with his other choice as he played with Nicolas Anelka for France at times, but he would like to have deployed that strike force in the English top flight.
Speaking of Drogba on Sky Sports, Henry said: ‘Because of the way he used to play and the way he was. You have two players who I would have loved to play with in the Premier League. Him and Anelka.
‘I would have loved to play with Anelka up front and him. I think both of us up front, problem, big problem.
FC Porto v Chelsea - UEFA Champions League
Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka did get to play together at Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I saw him [Drogba] the other day and we were actually talking about it. We sat down at the airport and I went “can you believe if we played both of us together?”
‘He didn’t like to go too much out of that area and I was more of a mover, a bit everywhere. It would have been a bit of a problem.
‘Let’s not forget Anelka was a problem as well, I would have loved to play with Nicolas.’
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Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry did line-up together for France (Picture:Getty Images)
Henry arrived at Arsenal in the same summer that Anelka left the club for Real Madrid, but has praised his compatriot’s impact with the Gunners before and feels he is underappreciated in England.
‘We all know that he terrorised teams when he first arrived in England,’ he told Sky Sports back in 2018.
‘He, for me – people do not mention him as they should mention him. He was one of the best strikers we have ever seen in this league.
‘He won it at Arsenal at a young age, when it was very difficult. You had to battle away from home all the time. He did it at Chelsea, he won the league there.
‘Obviously we all know the story, he left to go to Real Madrid but we are talking about one of the best strikers we have seen and I think he was pivotal to that [Arsenal] squad.’
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