ARSENAL thought they would never win the league with Thierry Henry as “he couldn’t hit a barn door” when he arrived, claimed Ray Parlour.
The Gunners legend, 47, admitted the squad had their concerns after the Frenchman joined from Juventus in 1999.
Parlour told Sky Sports’ The Football Show: “Henry was amazing, when he first turned up, we thought he couldn’t hit a barn door.
“Seven games, scoring no goals, we can’t win the league with Thierry.”
Henry silenced his critics after scoring 26 goals across all competitions during his first season in North London.
The Frenchman, who won the league twice with Arsenal, is still the club’s highest goalscorer in history after finding the net 228 times.
But Parlour still picked Dennis Bergkamp when he was asked who was the better player out of Henry and the Dutchman.
He said : “I’d have to pick Dennis slightly, he changed the attitude with the British players as well.
“His training methods, professionalism was first class.
“He used to stay behind at training and train on his own.
“What a special player as well. A little bit like [Eric] Cantona.
“Dennis was the one who would always be in the right place at the right time.
“He always read your mind as well.
“I think Dennis was a cut above everyone else at that time, but Thierry would go close as well.”
