Arsenal have had many iconic players over the years, who not only became legends at the club, but ended their careers as memorable footballing stars.
Arsene Wenger’s sides in the late 1990s and early 2000s won three Premier League titles playing some of the most attractive football the English game has seen.
Even to this day, the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira are revered and respected across the footballing world.
This period of success also saw Arsenal assert their dominance over Tottenham Hotspur, and the signing of Sol Campbell in 2002 heated up the rivalry to a new level.
It is therefore, somewhat surprising to see a former Spurs player heap praise on an Arsenal legend, but one former star was so good that his fearsome quality was simply undeniable.
- READ MORE: Dennis Bergkamp’s best-ever Arsenal teammate
Danny Murphy names Arsenal legend Thierry Henry as his greatest opponent
Former defender Danny Murphy is best known for his spells at Liverpool and Fulham, but he did also play for Arsenal’s biggest rivals in Tottenham Hotspur.
It speaks volumes that he has now told talkSPORT that Thierry Henry was the best opposition player he ever faced, having also come up against legends including Zinedine Zidane, Wayne Rooney and Kaka in his career.
“I had to think hard about it because for me the number one is somebody who ticks a few different boxes,” he stated of his choice.
“One who puts the fear that God into you when you see him on the team sheet, and someone who has time and time again, when you’ve played against him, been the main man and won the games and you can’t stop him, you can’t stop the fella. It’s Thierry Henry.
“Now the thing that’s annoying about Thierry, apart from his wonderful footballing ability, is that you know he was a big good-looking lad who always smelled nice, you know what I mean, and that annoyed me in itself, but he scored a hat trick against us at Highbury.
“I even said to him after that game walking off, just getting off the pitch and he was he was next to me, I said to him ‘That was magnificent.’ It was unbelievable.”
Thierry Henry’s iconic hattrick against Danny Murphy’s Liverpool
Murphy was playing for Liverpool when his side went to Highbury to face the side who would become Invincibles in April 2004.
Arsenal had suffered exits in the Champions League and FA Cup that week, and had to come out with a statement performance to keep their unbeaten league record going.
Henry was an injury doubt for the game, but ended up in the starting XI. However, Arsenal found themselves in trouble as they were trailing by the fifth minute.
The Frenchman then equalised in the first half, before Michael Owen put Liverpool 2-1 up before half-time.
Henry then showed why he was the best. Robert Pires found an equaliser before the striker scored one of his best-ever goals, picking up the ball at the halfway line, dribbling past every Liverpool player who stood in his way, before slotting home to make it 3-2.
He then added a fourth, with Arsenal recording a 4-2 win to overcome their tough week, and they would go on to become unbeaten champions.
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