Arsenal: Thierry Henry’s Kylian Mbappe Advice Gold-Dust

Thierry Henry has heralded the talent of Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe. Arsenal should listen to the gold-dust advice of their record goalscorer.

There is one attribute with Arsene Wenger’s recruitment that has always prevailed throughout his 20-year Arsenal tenure. While other teams, like Chelsea and Manchester City, will happily splash the cash, investing in the big names, bringing in ready-made players to immediately improve their first team, Wenger takes a different route.

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Le Prof is far more frugal with his economics and prioritising of his youth. As such, he looks to acquire young talent for lesser fees and then use his coaching skills to nurture and develop their skills.

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Moreover, given his French heritage and his knowledge of Ligue 1, Wenger has often looked to his homeland to find his diamonds in the rough. The latest name to arise is Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe and he is a rather formidable figure fighting his corner. Arsenal’s record goalscorer, Thierry Henry, is a fan of Mbappe’s natural talent, stating that he ‘has something special’:

"“I do not compare, but having met him, I saw he was calm, respectful, and someone who wants to learn. When I first saw him play against Tottenham in the Europa League, as soon as I saw him, I knew he was a player. I said: ‘who is he?’ At 16 and a half [years old], he was asking for the ball, he could dribble, he was having shots, he was winning the ball back and he loved the ball. Mbappe has something special. If he keeps his head on his shoulders, it will come on its own.”"

Although Henry is no scout – he does have his coaching badges, is an established coach with Belgian international side, is an accomplished pundit and is considered a knowledgeable and intelligible footballing man – he is one of the greatest footballers to grace this earth; he should, you would expect, be able to notice the talents of a young attacker.

Mbappe is indeed a very talented attacker. At only 18 years of age, Mbappe has scored four goals and amassed five assists in just seven Ligue 1 starts. He is quick, direct in his dribbling and is capable of scoring buckets full of goals.

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The attacker is the stereotypical Wenger target. Young, intelligent, quick and, of course, French. Whether a move will ever happen remains to be seen. But Thierry Henry is a fan, as am I.