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Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has named former Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as the players he would have loved to play with in the Premier League. The former French forward made the claim during a recent appearance on Sky Sports.
Drogba joined Chelsea from Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille for a reported €38.5 million in 2004. He had two spells spanning a total of nine years (2004-2012 and 2014-15) at the club, during which he racked up 164 goals and 81 assists in 381 appearances across competitions. With 104 goals in the EPL, he is the third-highest-scoring African player in the competition's history behind ex-Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
On the other hand, Anelka initially joined Arsenal from boyhood side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in February 1997. He spent three years at the club, bagging 28 goals and 14 assists in 90 appearances, and departed in the same window that the Gunners signed Henry from Juventus.
After plying his trade at a host of top European sides like Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester City, among others, Anelka joined Chelsea in 2008. In four seasons at the club, he scored 59 goals and assisted a further 32 in 184 appearances.
Speaking of the two forwards, Henry said (via Metro):
"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."
"One of the best strikers we have ever seen" - When Arsenal icon Thierry Henry made claim about former Gunner and Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka
Legendary Arsenal forward Thierry Henry once branded his compatriot Nicolas Anelka as 'one of the best strikers that we have ever seen.'
Henry himself is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and in the history of the Premier League. He had two spells at the Emirates spanning nine years (1999-2007 and 2011-12), racking up 228 goals and 93 assists in 377 games across all competitions.
Henry made 28 appearances alongside Anelka for the French national team, assisting him twice and scoring off his passes on three occasions. Speaking to Sky Sports in 2018, the ex-Gunners attacker had nothing but praise for his countryman.
He said (via Metro):
"We all know that he terrorised teams when he first arrived in EnglandHe, 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 squad," Henry added.
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Edited by Parag Jain