Kylian Mbappe or Thierry Henry? Arsenal icon Robert Pires names better player
Former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires has picked Theirry Henry over Kylian Mbappe, stating that the Gunners legend was a more complete player. Frenchmen Pires and Henry played together at Arsenal for six years between 2000 to 2006.
During that time, they helped the north London club win two Premier League and as many FA Cups.
Henry made a total of 377 appearances for Arsenal across two spells, bagging 228 gold and 97 assists. Meanwhile, Pires scored 84 goals and assisted 62 in 284 appearances across competitions for the Gunners.
The duo had 37 goal contributions for Arsenal together, with Henry scoring 21 and Pires 16. Apart from success in English top-tier football, the pair also won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship together for France.
During a recent interview with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand on the official YouTube channel of UEFA, Robert Pires backed Thierry Henry over Kylian Mbappe, saying:
"For me, Thierry was better than Kylian Mbappe. I love Mbappe (but) Thierry was a more complete (player)."
Pires left the Gunners in 2006 to join La Liga side Villarreal on a free transfer. The Frenchman also played a few matches for Aston Villa and FC Goa in the later stages of his professional career before hanging up his boots in March 2015.
Arsenal are set to sign in-form forward in summer transfer window - Reports
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are reportedly close to signing Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres in the upcoming summer transfer, as per Swedish website Leonino.
The Gunners have been monitoring the 26-year-old's situation in the league for months. Moreover, Arsenal sees the Swede as a perfect replacement for Gabriel Jesus, who has failed to perform consistently at the Emirates.
As per the aforementioned report, Sporting were initially demanding €100 million for the striker. However, they have agreed to let Gyokeres go for an initial reported transfer fee of €90 million. With performance bonuses and different clauses, the price can go up to €120 million.
The Sweden international made 50 appearances across competitions for Sporting last season, bagging 43 goals and 15 assists. He was signed by the Portuguese giants from Championship side Coventry in July 2023 for a reported transfer fee of €23 million.