Thierry Henry Thinks Anthony Martial Is Better Than He Was At 21

Thierry Henry may just be the greatest footballer to ever grace the Premier League, with every one of his 175 league goals for Arsenal a work of art, but it wasn't always 30-yard screamers and mind bending solo efforts for the mercurial Frenchman during his glittering career. In his early 20's, Henry was a prodigy finding his feet at Monaco before enduring a difficult season with Juventus.

It didn't take Henry long to adapt to the top flight of English football, with the Arsenal legend hitting 17 Premier League goals in 31 appearances during his debut campaign in 1999-2000, before going on to inspire the Gunners to two Premier League titles, in 2002 and 2004.

Thierry Henry Arsene Wenger

The best £11 million Arsene Wenger ever spent. Image: PA

However, Henry believes that Anthony Martial is already better than he was at the age of 21, shortly before Henry moved to England and, with Martial already having two years of Premier League experience under his belt, that is a frightening prospect.

Speaking in a recent interview, Henry said, via Metro, "Anthony Martial is a far better player than I was at that age. He can become a world class player."

Martial was a relative unknown when Manchester United parted with £36 million for his services, in 2015, with several newspapers dismissing the Monaco youngster before he'd even stepped foot on a pitch for the Red Devils.

A sensational debut goal against Liverpool and a further 16 efforts later that season, and those journalists who had written off the Frenchman were soon eating their words.

Despite enduring a frustrating second season at Old Trafford, the France international has hit the ground running this term, scoring five times in the opening nine games and winning United's Player Of The Month award for the third time, for his performances throughout September.

Martial was linked with moves to Sevilla and Tottenham last season, but United fans will be thrilled to see his return to form under Jose Mourinho, this term, especially when combined with the manner in which Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have started the season.

(H/T Metro)

Topics: Anthony Martial, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Arsenal, thierry henry

Joe Baiamonte

Northerner. Assistant Editor of SPORTbible. Studied Journalism and Broadcasting in a portakabin on a car park of Salford University for three years. Believes football peaked with Serie A in the '90s and strong-arms pro wrestling references into as many articles as possible. Neymar once took 50 euros off me during a game of poker.

@JoeBaia