Thierry Henry admits to having screamed at and argued with Arsene Wenger during his iconic spell at Arsenal, with the legendary French forward viewing a fellow countryman as a “father figure”.
A meteoric rise to prominence for Henry was enjoyed under the guidance of Wenger at Arsenal.
Wenger was the man to get the best out of him, but a productive working relationship between two passionate Gallic characters did not always run smoothly.
Speaking as part of the A Fresh Perspective with Thierry Henry and Heineken campaign, an all-time great said of his former boss: “He was like a father figure for me. So, as you can imagine, with your dad, you argue, you scream, he punishes you.
“Then, I want to show him the same relationship that you have with a dad: it’s complicated at times, sometimes it’s the best, sometimes we’re best friends, sometimes we’re worst enemies and we argue.
“But that’s what happens when you love someone. Because you care, that’s why you argue. But I’ll tell you, there are two guys – since we’re mentioning Arsene.
“Arsene triggered my brain, and every day, it was something about my brain, about asking myself the right questions. And then you have Pep [Guardiola], who tactically triggered my brain.
“So those two guys had a massive impact on me, but I cannot, obviously, talk about my career without Arsene, because I think one of the most important things in the world, not only in sport, is to trigger the brain of someone, to stimulate the brain of someone every single day.
“If not, it’s close to dying, if your brain is not functioning properly.”