Robert Pires didn't hesitate when asked if Thierry Henry was better than Kylian Mbappe

Robert Pires has given his take on whether a prime Thierry Henry was better than Kylian Mbappe.

The former Arsenal midfielder forged a lethal partnership with Henry during a six-year spell that featured five major domestic trophies, including the 'Invincibles' title in 2003/04.

In fact, Henry and Pires yielded the third-most combined goals and assists in English top flight history [29], with the latter recording 63 goals and 42 assists in the league.

Mbappe, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of best players in world football. But is he better than Henry?

Speaking to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand on UEFA's YouTube channel, Pires believes his former Arsenal teammate is a more complete player.

"For me, Thierry was better than Kylian Mbappe," he said. "I love Mbappe [but] Thierry was a more complete [player]."

That being said, Pires overlooked Henry when he was asked to name his best teammates for Arsenal and France.

“I learned a lot from Zinedine Zidane with the national team. Zidane was a leader and a strong character,” Pires said on the BBC Match of the Day podcast.

“When I joined Arsenal in 2000 I learned a lot from Dennis Bergkamp. He was the mind of the team and he made things look easy.

“I loved the type of player he was. Bergkamp was very important for Arsene Wenger.”

Pires, who went on to play for Villarreal and Aston Villa, also opened up on the toughest defender he came up against.

"In the Premier League it was John Terry and Rio Ferdinand," he said.

"Matches against Chelsea and Manchester United were always hard and Terry and Ferdinand were very tough, very physical."

Image credit: Getty

The Frenchman added: "Coming from France to play in the Premier League, it was very difficult at the beginning. Arsene Wenger told me: 'It's not the same football. It's physical, you need to learn.

"My first match was at Sunderland. I was sitting on the bench and after about 20-25 minutes I remember thinking: 'Wow, this football is not for me.'"

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