‘Animal’… Martin Keown couldn’t handle one Arsenal icon in training, he called him an ‘Olympic sprinter’

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Martin Keown played with a fair share of Arsenal icons during his time in North London.

The defender didn’t win three Premier League titles by chance, being a top player himself over the years before retiring in 2012.

Still close to the game, Keown often expresses his opinion on Arsenal, sharing his verdict on his former club and spilling some memories along the way. 

The ex-England international has shocked many with his revelations, for example, he once revealed his belief that Nicholas Anelka could’ve eclipsed Thierry Henry. 

• READ MORE: Martin Keown reveals why Arsene Wenger went ‘berserk’ at him shortly after joining Arsenal

Martin Keown makes Thierry Henry training admission

Henry was a teammate of Keown’s 138 times at Arsenal, giving the retired defender a better insight than most on the Frenchman. 

Having the striker on your side was certainly better than facing him, as Rio Ferdinand admitted he lost sleep over Henry during his playing career. 

Though Keown became accustomed to having the World Cup winner on his team, the now-pundit had his fair share of training ground troubles with Arsenal’s record goalscorer. 

Speaking to TNT Sports to compile the best front three of the Premier League era, Keown admitted that it wasn’t Henry’s finishing that caused defenders the most problems.

“Well, I trained against him every day, Thierry Henry was just quite incredible, an Olympic sprinter not wearing spikes but football boots.”

The Arsenal icon highlighted Henry’s blistering pace as a trait that made him ‘incredible’, continuing by dubbing his former teammate an ‘animal’.

“He was just, honestly, in 02/03 to ‘04, he just became an animal on the pitch, so driven.”

From the start of the 2002/03 campaign to the end of the 2003/04 calendar, Henry contributed to an eye-watering 110 goals for Arsenal, earning his label of an animal.

Henry’s comparisons to Usain Bolt 

Someone with even the most slim idea about football would be able to identify Henry as a player capable of inflicting damage on his opponent through scoring and assisting. 

What Keown added into the mix was the Frenchman’s pace, which has been compared to that of Usain Bolt. 

In 1998, Henry hit a top speed of 39.2km/h, which is comparable to Bolt’s average speed maintained in a 100m sprint.

Bolt averages 37.5km/h in a 100m, although the Jamaican comfortably outpaces Henry when it comes to outright top speeds, hitting an absurd 44.7km/h.

Keown branded his former teammate an Olympic sprinter, a compliment that sounds far-fetched but actually carries some weight.