There have been some incredible wingers in the history of the Premier League.
Mohamed Salah is a potential Ballon d’Or winner this year, while Eden Hazard was a truly world-class player in his day too.
Speaking to TalkSPORT Ireland, Theo Walcott has been asked to rate and compare some of the great wingers in Premier League history, and he made an interesting claim about one former Arsenal star.
Of course, Walcott has a strong affinity for Arsenal after spending the majority of his playing career in north London, and according to the pundit, Robert Pires was actually a better player than former Liverpool ace, Sadio Mane.
Theo Walcott picks Robert Pires over Sadio Mane
Walcott was asked to pick between Robert Pires and Sadio Mane.
Robert Pires was incredible during his time at Arsenal, while Sadio Mane was one of Jurgen Klopp’s most important players at Liverpool.
Walcott had to take some time to think this one through, but, ultimately, he picked Pires ahead of Mane.
Interestingly, Pires and Walcott were teammates at Arsenal for a short period in the second half of the 2005/06 season.
Walcott and Pires never played together, but they were in a few of the same matchday squads for the Gunners.
Robert Pires compared to Sadio Mane
Comparing Pires and Mane is not an easy task.
Both players worked in a similar position – down the left wing, but their playing styles were so different.
Pires was all about finesse and creativity, often making magic happen on his own or creating that bit of space for another player to go and score.
Meanwhile, Mane was all about end product, he was direct, he was fast, and he knew how to score goals.
The stats show the difference between these two players.
| Robert Pires for Arsenal | Sadio Mane for Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| 284 | Games | 269 |
| 84 | Goals | 120 |
| 63 | Assists | 40 |
| 2 | League titles | 1 |
| 3 | Cup wins | 2 |
| 0 | Champions League wins | 1 |
As for who was better, ultimately, it’s almost impossible to split these two.
If you put Sadio Mane into the early 2000s Arsenal team, they probably wouldn’t be as good, while there isn’t a natural place for Pires in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team either.
Ultimately, these two were two of the Premier League’s best players in their primes, but their respective primes go to show how much the Premier League has indeed changed over the years.
Regardless, at just £6m, Pires has to be considered one of Arsenal’s best signings ever.
