Thierry will put Zidane in shade

14 April 2012

Arsene Wenger today tipped Thierry Henry to overtake Zinedine Zidane as the world's greatest footballer. With FIFA due to announce the shortlist for the world player of the year later today, Wenger was still basking in the afterglow of a performance from Henry which destroyed Charlton and reaffirmed Arsenal's domestic supremacy after a midweek European blip.

Gunners boss Wenger said: "He's 27 now and between 27 and 32 you make your name. I've seen Zidane at 27 and I think Henry is in advance of Zidane. At 27 people said he is a good player, a fantastic player, he will be a world player and he became one.

"Thierry is already and the best years are in front of him. He has all you want. It's always difficult to compare but I feel he is just amazing. He has all the ingredients."

Wenger was purring after Henry had scored twice to inspire a 4-0 thrashing of Charlton at Highbury. His first goal will last in the memory a long time, an extraordinary back heel through the legs of defender Jonathan Fortune and past goalkeeper Dean Kiely.

He had already set up Freddie Ljungberg's opener with a fabulous pass and later drove home his second, and Arsenal's third, with incredible power. Jose Antonio Reyes finished Charlton off with the Gunners' fourth goal 20 minutes from the end.

Henry's attacking partner Dennis Bergkamp was also full of praise for the Frenchman but added that the strength in depth of this invincible Arsenal machine, now unbeaten in 48 Premiership matches, is incomparable with previous Gunners teams.

"We have always had strong squads in my time here, but this season it is very strong," said Bergkamp. "In other seasons, we have had to shuffle some players around and perhaps we lost a bit of momentum. This season we leave one player out, bring another in and we stay at the same level.

"The one-touch football we produce is wonderful. You could be 45 and still play in this side. Thierry Henry? He can get even better, even stronger. It is difficult to find a weakness in his game. If anyone

asked me 'What is his bad side ?', I couldn't come up with anything.

"And we have Reyes coming through. He has adapted so well to England from Spanish football and he is going for it in every challenge, willing to put his foot in."

Despite the imperious method of Arsenal's win on Saturday, Wenger was still cautious about his team's title challenge. "We have three or four teams in England who are really good," he said. "Chelsea are a great side, Liverpool will improve during the season and Manchester United as well. That will certainly be the decider, the direct confrontations for the Championship."

While Wenger will spend this week worrying whether his international stars will return from World Cup duty unscathed, his Charlton counterpart Alan Curbishley is hoping the enforced break will enable his injury list to start to clear. He can find no consistency in his team selection and that is reflected in the lack of consistency in his side's displays.

"Arsenal can pick the same players - it is either Bergkamp and Henry or Bergkamp and Henry!" said Curbishley. "We haven't been able to play any settled partnerships." He cited the latest injury to Francis Jeffers as a case in point.

What he could do with is an example of the form that Danny Murphy has shown over the past four years - talent that had Charlton competing with Tottenham for his signature.

"Did you expect more from him?" Curbishley was asked.

"I think he expected more from us," was the reply. "Don't think it is one-way traffic there. No, we have had a lot of injuries and now we have to get some consistency in our game."

Thierry will put Zidane in shade

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