Thierry Henry has revealed he has ‘mad respect’ for Bukayo Saka because he was never considered as the top talent in Arsenal’s academy.
The club’s all-time record goalscorer worked alongside Saka during the embryonic stage of his career but admitted the winger wasn’t really on his radar.
Saka has since flourished to the extent whereby he, alongside Martin Odegaard, is Arsenal’s most potent attacking force while several of his peers fell by the wayside.
‘At the time I was in the academy [coaching] people were talking a lot about Chris Willock, Reiss Nelson, Donyell Malen and Bukayo was just… yeah he’s good but it wasn’t the talk of the academy,’ Henry told BBC Sport.
‘That’s why I have mad respect for Buakyo and I have a soft spot for him and my favourite player.’
Saka still has room for improvement, however, according to Henry who revealed that he, in a recent chat with the 23-year-old, challenged him to improve his free-kicks.
He said: ‘He’s been there for a long time, he’s so nice. I never thought he was going to reach the level we’re seeing.
‘He’s a starter for England, he’s a starter obviously for Arsenal. I remember when he started at the beginning, he was playing wing-back, on the left, on the right.
‘The evolution of his game is just outstanding because he used to be lively, to difficult to defend against, to assists, to goals, to now goals and assists, taking penalties.
‘You know I challenged him the other day you need to take free-kicks now.’
Saka will be expected to play a central role against Monaco this evening as Arsenal bid to take a major step towards confirming automatic qualification for the next round of the Champions League.
‘Really impressed,’ said Arteta when asked for his verdict on tonight’s opposition. ‘Really good side, you see the run they’ve been on in the Champions League and in the league, especially against top opposition, so a real threat.
‘A team that is superbly well organised, really intense, really good in transition moments as well with a lot of quality, so it’s going to be a very good test for us tomorrow.’
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