Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has named the one player in world football who he prefers to watch over any other at the moment, pinpointing the exact moment that made him sit up and take notice.
Ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo‘s list of the best Premier League players of all time, Thierry Henry dominated in the English top flight during his playing days and is certainly well qualified to offer his opinion on the world’s best players right now.
But while he enjoyed his peak years at Arsenal, it’s actually a player from another of his former sides that has managed to impress the Frenchman the most.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry picks Barcelona star as favourite player
When asked who his favourite player to watch in the world is, Henry was unequivocal in his answer: “Lamine Yamal,” he told SportBible.
“I’ll tell you why. And it’s not because of what you think I’m going to say. It’s his maturity. I’ll explain. I have it clear in my head. Spain go 2-1 up against France at Euro 2024 in the semi-final. Unai Simon throws the ball to him and he controls it with the outside of his foot. He looks up and can go one-vs-one against [Theo] Hernandez.
“At that moment, you’re young. You’ve scored a goal. Who would have said anything if he took the ball and played the one-vs-one? It was minute 60-something. He touched the ball with the outside-of-his-foot, put it down, passed it back and said to everyone, ‘Calm down’.”
In that moment, Henry realised the calibre of player the Barcelona youngster truly was.
“I said, ‘You’re doing that at your age already and it’s a wrap’,” Henry said. “Think about it. That moment. In the semi-final, when you’ve scored a goal like that. You get carried away. Nobody would have said anything. He could have taken it one-on-one but he took the ball and passed it back.
“Honestly. I remember saying, ‘This guy is too good. He is on a different level.’ Please understand the level I’m talking about. Stepovers, nutmegs – yes he does that all the time. But for him to think about that in a game of that magnitude is something else.”
Yamal has gone from strength-to-strength in 2024/25, firmly cementing his spot in the Barcelona first team having played 34 times in all competitions for the Blaugrana this term. During that time he has registerd 11 goals – and he’s still only 17.
Another La Liga crown might be added to his trophy cabinet come the end fot he season, too, with Barcelona locked in a three-way battle for the Spanish title with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who are all within a point of each other.
