“Surprisingly, not Thierry Henry” - Theo Walcott says ex-Arsenal teammate was better at finishing than French legend
Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott believes his former Gunners teammate Robin van Persie was a better finisher than club legend Thierry Henry. The statement may seem surprising given the latter's status in north London and world football.
Henry made 377 appearances across competitions for Arsenal, bagging 228 goals and 98 assists. He goes down as one of the best players to have played for the Gunners and in the Premier League.
Walcott, however, has played with both strikers and provides his thoughts on this debate. He made 121 appearances across competitions alongside the Dutchman, bagging 26 joint goal contributions. Meanwhile, the former England international shared the pitch on 21 occasions with Henry but failed to register a joint goal contribution.
In an interview with BBC on TikTok, Walcott said (via Now Arsenal):
"The best finisher for me would be Robin van Persie. That left foot was genuinely a wand. Surprisingly, not Thierry Henry- so yeah, Robin van Persie."
Van Persie joined the Gunners from Feyenoord in the summer of 2004 for a reported fee of €4.5 million. He spent eight years before leaving the Emirates to join their Premier League rivals Manchester United in the summer of 2012 for a reported fee of €30.7 million.
While he was with the north Londoners, Van Persie made 278 appearances across competitions, bagging 132 goals and 56 assists. He managed to win one FA Cup and a Community Shield title before joining the Red Devils.
Bukayo Saka lavishes praise on Arsenal teammate's ability in front of goal
Bukayo Saka has lavished praise on Arsenal teammate Kai Havertz's goalscoring form this season. The Germany international has bagged six goals and an assist in 10 matches across competitions.
Overall, the pair have played 56 matches together across competitions, bagging eight joint goal contributions. Speaking about Havertz's performances this year, Saka told CBS Sports (via Metro):
"I've always though that Kai's an unbelievable player. We're so happy that he's showing that. This season he has come out with even more confidence, I think he's scored in almost every game."
"He's scoring a lot of goals this season. He has a really good understanding around the box, when to attack it, and that's why he gets a lot of chances and that's why hopefully he'll score a lot of goals."
Due to his performances, Havertz has managed to displace Gabriel Jesus as a starter in the number nine position. Expect him to lead the line when Arsenal face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on October 19.