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Former Chelsea Goalkeeper Says He 'Feared' Thierry Henry

Former Chelsea Goalkeeper Says He 'Feared' Thierry Henry

Henry is one of the greatest players to ever grace the Premier League and the Arsenal legend brought fear to one Chelsea goalkeeper.

Thierry Henry was so good during his time in the Premier League that one former Chelsea goalkeeper has revealed he was afraid to face the Arsenal legend.


Henry is one of the greatest players to have graced the Premier League and was both a scorer of great goals and a great goalscorer throughout his time in England.

The French forward scored 175 goals in 258 appearances for the the Gunners, and has the best goals to games ratio of any one in the league's 100 goal club.

Henry was so good that he made even the best of opponents look ordinary at times, and goalkeepers were amongst his biggest victims, so much so that Carlo Cudicini actually feared the forward.

The former Chelsea keeper played at Stamford Bridge from 2000 to 2009 and played against some of the world's best, but it was Henry who put the fear in him.

"For me, the one name I'm not afraid to say I feared was Thierry Henry," the Italian told Ladbrokes on the launch of the 5-A-Side Bet on Aston Villa v Chelsea

"A lot of people don't like to use the word 'fear' in football, but I absolutely hated playing against Henry. He was a genius in so many ways; he was so unpredictable and so difficult to read.

Henry scores against Cudicini. Image: PA Images
Henry scores against Cudicini. Image: PA Images

"His speed and intelligence were second to none; he had everything. At that time, it was Arsenal and Chelsea who were always battling it out at the top of the table, so whenever we played them it was a huge occasion, and you just knew he was the sort of player who thrived under those circumstances.

"I played quite a few times against him and I don't think I've come up against anyone better."

Henry coming up against Chelsea. Image: PA Images
Henry coming up against Chelsea. Image: PA Images

Cudicini, who is now back at Chelsea as a loan player technical coach, also talked about having to face another of the great modern day strikers in training every day.

"I had the pleasure of playing alongside one of the best Premier League strikers of all-time in Didier Drogba," the former Tottenham Hotspur keeper added,

"I had to face him every single day in training and it's so easy to see why he's so highly rated."

Henry was somehow named in a list of the most overrated footballers in history, though Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho were also in the list so no one should take it seriously!

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Chelsea, Arsenal, Thierry Henry, Premier League