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As someone who lifted almost every major trophy going during a glittering playing career, Thierry Henry knows a thing or two about winning.
The Arsenal legend was crowned world and European champion at international level with France, claimed the Champions League with Barcelona and added several domestic league titles and cups in several countries.
'Winners are not nice. They want to win' Thierry Henry pinpoints mentality switch in Arsenal star
Henry was central to Arsenal's last period of significant success, when the Gunners won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups between 1997/98 and 2004/05 under Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners have lifted the FA Cup four times in the two decades since, most recently in 2020, but this season they have a great chance of ending their 22-wait for a top-flight title thanks to a four-point lead at the top of the table.
One man who will surely be key to the Gunners' bid for glory is Bukayo Saka, who has scored 77 goals in 294 appearances since his promotion from the youth academy to the first team in 2018.
The winger has one of the brightest smiles in football, but Henry believes the 24-year-old has developed a steely edge - and rates that as the biggest improvement to Saka's game since he broke into the senior side.
"His eyes have changed," the 48-year-old told Betway.
"You know when someone has that look, it’s over, and I think that changed a bit for Bukayo.
"Sometimes people said, 'Bukayo is a nice guy.' I don’t like that, personally. On the field, you don’t have to be nice. Winners are not nice. They want to win."
Saka has named Henry as the person who has helped him most in football, and the Gunners legend revealed their conversations are not limited to on-pitch matters.
He said: "I don’t want to say too much, but some of the guys have my number and whenever they want to call me, they know they can.
"What we talk about is on them to say if they want to, but they know they can call me and talk about life, football or whatever.
"I can only say thank you for what Bukayo said. It’s just calling a friend, I guess, because I consider Bukayo like a little brother in a certain way.
"Whenever I can speak to a player, I think that should be your duty. You don’t owe anything to anyone, but you give. I will say that honesty is key, so whenever I speak to a player I am brutally honest."
Saka is approaching 50 caps for England and was one of the Three Lions' top performers at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.
Henry believes the winger's long-term performance level means he strikes fear into defenders, saying: "Consistency is key, and Bukayo has been consistent for the past two or three years with England and Arsenal.
"Sometimes, stats don’t tell you how a player plays. If you take Andres Iniesta and you only look at his stats, you’ll think he was an OK player. Now if you watch the game, it’s a different ball game.
"Stats don’t tell you that Bukayo Saka goes up and down, defends the other winger, helps his right back, goes on the counter and tries to deliver.
"The amount of time that people kick him, he gets back up and he goes again, and he wants the ball in every situation. You have to watch the game to see that. Unfortunately, nowadays a lot of people only look at the stats.
"This is where Saka gives you a lot of options as a coach. We saw in the Euros when he started to play as a wing back – give me another winger right now of that magnitude who will accept to play as a wing back, or defend like he does.
"You have to watch the game to see what a player is doing, and what Bukayo brings to a team is second to none."
Thierry Henry was talking to Betway.
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