Kanu Nwankwo joined Arsenal in the same year that Thierry Henry moved from Juventus, but the Frenchman found it difficult to earn a place in the first team.
Former France international Thierry Henry shares insight into his early days at Arsenal and the challenges of securing a place alongside club legends such as Kanu Nwankwo, Dennis Bergkamp and Davor Souker. Soccernet.ng reported.
Two-time African Player of the Year, Kanu joined Arsenal from Inter Milan for a transfer fee of around £4.5 million between 1999 and 2002.
During that season, he played 50 games for Arsenal and scored 17 goals. That included a memorable hat-trick in the London derby against Chelsea, which turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 victory.
Coincidentally, Thierry Henry also joined Arsenal from Juventus in the same year as Kanu. However, he admitted that competition within the team is intense and that he will need to work tirelessly to get into Arsene Wenger’s line-up.
Henry expressed his determination: “How are we going to play?” How do we bench Dennis Bergkamp, Kanu Nwankwo, Davor Suker or someone? For example, how? That, How can I do it? So I went back to my hotel and tried to outdo them in everything they do, wherever they are. ”
“Dennis Bergkamp was always the first to come to training. He has already won everything, is the player of the season and comes to training before me every morning. Points Are you missing something? He does everything (practice) perfectly.”
“Sometimes I tried some tricky moves with the ball, like turning it over on the ninth try or turning it around and flicking it.”Dennis Bergkamp?Control, Pass, control, pass. And I looked at him and thought, “Okay.” he scored a goal. He scored two points. He looks at me and then he scores again so I have to score too. ”
“I tried to follow them in everything they do. Then you have to deliver it to the field. You have to take free kicks from Dennis Bergkamp, Dennis – We need to take penalties away from Bergkamp, we need to take keys away from Dennis Bergkamp. How do we do that? He’s a god in this area. How can I beat this guy?
“So I had to wake up early every morning and show him the utmost respect, to show him that I was better than him in training every day. ”
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Between 1999 and 2007, Thierry Henry scored a total of 174 goals for Arsenal, cementing his status as a club legend.
