Kevin De Bruyne could break Arsenal legend Thierry Henry's incredible Premier League record
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne is on track to break Arsenal legend Thierry Henry's record of most assists (20) in a Premier League season. De Bruyne has 16 assists for the season. With seven games to go and the Cityzens in red-hot form, he has a good chance of setting a new mark.
Henry reached the mark for Arsenal in the 2002-03 season, bagging 24 goals and 20 assists. De Bruyne matched that assist tally in the 2019-20 campaign and now looks to claim the record outright.
De Bruyne did say three years ago that he already holds the record in his mind, after a few cheap deflections robbed him of the assists record that campaign:
“I have got two more – you guys took two away from me that I am still claiming, so for me I was already above (him). It is what it is. I need my teammates, obviously. I am creating for them to score, and I am grateful when they do. It is nice to have (the record), and it is nice to have it with Thierry.”
The Belgian recently became the fifth player to notch up 100 assists in the Premier League, becoming the fastest to do so. He's currently fourth on the list with 102, having overtaken Frank Lampard, and is almost certain to pass Wayne Rooney (103).
Cesc Fabregas is in second place with 111 across spells with Arsenal and Chelsea, while Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs is the all-time leader with 162 assists across 24 seasons.
Gary Neville says he knew Manchester City would dominate Arsenal
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has said that he knew that the Gunners would be dominated by Manchester City even before the players left the tunnel.
On the Overlap YouTube channel, Neville said that the Gunners should have tried to counter their recent run of conceding goals by setting up differently:
"I think coming to Manchester City in a game like this, I think it warranted potentially looking at the game differently. If you're conceding goals against Southampton, Bournemouth and West Ham, you're definitely going to concede goals against Manchester City.
"We have a group don't we (him and Carragher), a group chat and honestly I saw them in the tunnel, and I said: 'Arsenal are going to have to do very well here not to concede four.'
The Gunners lost 4-1 at the Etihad on Wednesday (April 26). They lead second-placed City by two points but have played two games more.