Thierry Henry knows all about playing down the left-hand side for Arsenal and with Vinicius Jr now linked with a move, the Gunners could be about to get their best player in that position since the Frenchman.
Arsenal are believed to be pushing on with a deal to bring Vinicius to The Emirates.
Should Arsenal sign the Brazilian, then it would represent one of the biggest signings in the club’s history while also solving their search for a new player on the left of their attack.
Indeed, according to Thierry Henry, it wasn’t too long ago that he regarded Vinicius as the best around.
Drop your instant reaction to Arsenal exploring a move to sign Vinicius Jr from Real Madrid
Thierry Henry once called Vinicius Jr the best player in the world
Quite who the best player in the world is is obviously subjective but Vinicius Jr has done enough in recent seasons to put himself in the conversation.
In fact, as recently as the Champions League final in 2024, Henry was asked if he thought Vini Jr was indeed the best in the world.
“Yes, that is what I said, right now,” Henry said back in 2024 in response to Jamie Carragher.
“It can change. Because, we all know, people talk about Ballon d’Or all the time , Copa America and the Euro’s will dictate that. It will not stop because of this game, even if Vinicius scores or Bellingham scores and Real Madrid win, the Euro or the Copa America will have an impact on who get the Ballon d’Or.
“But, right now, this guy is ahead for me.”
What is Vinicius Jr’s record against English teams
One of the big questions about some of the best foreign players in the world is just how they might fare against English teams.
As for Vinicius, that is simply not a problem.
When we look at Vinicius Jr’s record against English clubs, it is more than healthy.
10 goals and 12 assists have come for the Brazilian in just 26 games, meaning he’s averaged a goal contribution nearly every game.
That just shows that playing against the Premier League’s best would be no issue for Vinicius. In fact, those goal contributions have come against the best we have to offer, so he should have no issue against teams outside the top six.
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