THIERRY HENRY revealed how Wayne Rooney took his breath away when he first caught sight of him – and then dealt Arsenal a stunning blow.
Henry was part of the defending champion Gunners who travelled up to Goodison Park in October 2002 unbeaten in 30 games.
But Rooney’s stunning first Prem strike, a 30-plus yarder past David Seaman, announced him in glorious fashion.
Henry said: “We’d heard there was this young kid at Everton who was going to score goals and had the body of a man.
“But when I saw him it was “Whoa! How old is he? 16?”
“You looked at his body and you could see the power just see him walking.
“You knew he wanted to succeed, he wanted to destroy everything that was in front of him.”
Rooney remembered: “That was my last game as a 16-year old. I was beating myself up over it thinking that I wanted to score as a 16-year old.
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“They were the best team in the league, 30-odd games unbeaten, [Patrick] Vieira, Sol Campbell, Henry.
“I was in awe, thinking ‘there’s David Seaman; there’s all these players I’ve watched for years’.
“I didn’t realise was how big they all were. They were massive. And I thought ‘f*** me, these absolutely huge!’
“You are always watching the clock and then I came on.
“I remember thinking ‘If I get a chance I’m shooting; I’m shooting from anywhere if I get a chance’.
“Then I remember Campbell backing off and my eyes just opened up, thinking ‘This is my chance’.
“It had to be perfect for it to go in.”
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