Wayne Rooney became the youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer in October 2002, when he netted a screamer against Arsenal at Goodison Park.
It was Wayne Rooney’s final game as a 16-year-old and he admitted he was so desperate to score and break the record.
David Moyes subbed the Everton teenager on with 10 minutes of normal time remaining and he ended up netting the winning goal to end Arsenal’s 30-game unbeaten streak.
Rooney has today been reflecting on the historic clash whilst walking around Everton’s new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock.
And he recalled one peculiar thing he noticed about Thierry Henry.
Photo by Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images
Wayne Rooney stunned by Thierry Henry’s height
Speaking on Everton’s YouTube channel, Rooney revealed that he was stunned by how tall Henry and his Arsenal teammates were when he first played against them in 2002.
“I remember I was on the bench and walking past the Arsenal starting 11 and they were massive,” Rooney said.
“Henry, Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Seaman, I didn’t realise how big they were they were all massive.
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“I remember just sitting there and watching the game and thinking it I come on and get a chance, I’m shooting, I always remember thinking that.”
Henry was wowed by Rooney that day
Henry was also wowed by Rooney that day as he remembers being shocked that he was so physically developed as a 16-year-old.
“We’d heard there was this young kid at Everton who was going to score goals and had the body of a man,” the Arsenal great told The Sun.
“But when I saw him it was “Whoa! How old is he? 16?. You looked at his body and you could see the power just see him walking.
“You knew he wanted to succeed, he wanted to destroy everything that was in front of him.”