Former French footballer Thierry Henry is a true Arsenal legend, probably their greatest player of all time, and knew a thing or two about impressing in the Premier League. After all, he won the division twice, scoring 175 goals and picking up 74 assists in that time, which also saw him named as the competition's player of the season on two occasions.
Now a pundit, fans might expect him to show some bias towards the Gunners when talking about those who have impressed him the most of late. After all, they are the only English club he ever played for, and they're also doing very well under Mikel Arteta so far in 2025/26, sitting at the top of the league table with just one game to be played before Christmas.
Even so, when talking about which manager and which player has stood out to him this term, Henry picked two names, but both men make up no part of Arsenal right now.
Henry Wowed By 'Focused' Emery
Unai Emery
In quotes given via Goal, he explained that Aston Villa boss Unai Emery – and not Arsenal's Arteta – is the manager that has impressed him the most so far. Going in to detail, he explained:
"I have to give Unai Emery a lot of credit because, come on, no one saw that coming. The results Villa were getting, they looked lost. They looked like they were not going to be at it. We were looking at it like, is this going to be the end? But, wow, you have to give Emery his credit. He always finds a way. "In three months, we might be saying they went south again. But at this particular moment, the way put everyone back together, he stayed focused and worked really hard. I’m impressed with the way they stayed united, because I couldn’t see that coming."
Emery certainly has impressed with Villa recently, and some believe they may even be in the title race, having beaten both Arsenal and Manchester City at home in the Premier League so far. The Villans currently sit third in the division, only three points off the very summit.
Henry 'Surprised' By Ekitike
hugo ekitike liverpool
When speaking about the player who has caught his eye the most, Henry once again opted to snub Arsenal – overlooking stars like Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka – to instead pick Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike. There is, of course, a French connection between the pair, but the comments are well-deserved:
"I’ll go with Hugo Ekitike, because at the beginning, he had to prove that he could be at Liverpool, and he did. Now the club is struggling and he’s still delivering. He surprised me. I knew he had that in his locker, but I didn’t know it was going to be that quick in terms of how he adapted. Of course, it’s easier to adapt when a team is rolling. But he adapted, then he went on the bench, didn’t say anything, came back and still scores his goals, so you have to put him up there."
Despite playing in a team that has largely underperformed, Ekitike has absolutely delivered when called upon. He's already reached double figures for goals in all competitions, bagging 10 in total, with seven strikes and one assist coming in the Premier League.
He has strong competition for his place in the team at Anfield, but is outshining record signing Alexander Isak, so it's easy to see why Henry has singled out the Frenchman for such high praise.