Ivan Toney says player who rejected Arsenal because of Arsene Wenger was even better than Thierry Henry

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Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is often known as one of the best footballers in the world, having been quite the fearsome forward in his day.

The Frenchman was a menace on the left wing for the Gunners, with pace and skill in abundance causing problems for the opposition.

Thierry Henry went on to get 324 goal involvements at Arsenal over two spells, with moves to Barcelona and New York Red Bulls in between.

Despite his huge reputation, former Arsenal transfer target Ivan Toney has claimed that another former player who rejected the Gunners was actually better.

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Ivan Toney says Zlatan Ibrahimovic was better than Thierry Henry

There was a time when it seemed likely that Ivan Toney would be lining up for Arsenal as a striker, though his move to Saudi Arabia ended any chance of that happening.

In the time since though, he has been discussing players in a game of winner stays on with Mail Sport on social media.

In the video, he claims that Thierry Henry is better than former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, along with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Andriy Shevchenko.

However, he went on to pick Zlatan Ibrahimovic over Henry, believing the former Swedish striker was better than the Frenchman.

It’s a bold claim, though at one point it could’ve been that Ibrahimovic was another former Arsenal player in the discussion.

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Why Zlatan Ibrahimovic once rejected Arsenal transfer

Ibrahimovic went on to have a pretty successful career, winning plenty of spells with Barcelona, PSG, AC Milan and more.

However, he could well have included Arsenal in that list, if only it wasn’t for an offer made by Arsene Wenger at the time.

Speaking to Sky Sports Italia many years ago, Ibrahimovic said about a potential move to the Gunners: “I didn’t have a trial – I came for talks with Arsenal.

“But Wenger wanted me to do a trial and I said: ‘I don’t do trials. You know who I am.”

He extended on that in 2023 when he told Piers Morgan: “I didn’t go to Arsenal. I don’t do trials. No no, you don’t understand, I don’t do trials. I am the best; f— the rest.”

It’s unclear just how well Ibrahimovic could’ve done at Arsenal or how much his career would’ve changed, but it will always be left as a story of what if.