The 24-year-old’s talent is undeniable, however his fellow countryman feels better management behind the scenes would have seen him attain new heights.
Thierry Henry believes Anthony Martial is “exactly” like he was when he arrived in the Premier League, in accordance to the France icon’s former Arsenal team-mate Lee Dixon, and feels that the forward’s improvement has been stalled by Manchester United ‘s lack of sturdy characters.
Martial arrived at Old Trafford with a bang back in 2015, bursting on to the scene as a teen with no shortage of skills and a eager eye for goal.
He has struggled for consistency at times during his 5 years with the Red Devils, however, with various managerial modifications and alterations to playing positions no doubt playing a phase in the France international’s stymied development.
For Henry, however, it is more down to having little concept at the Theatre of Dreams, with the former striker explaining to his old Gunners colleague Dixon that the big personalities in Arsenal’s dressing room had been pivotal in his rise to turning into one of football’s all-time greats.
“I talked about [Martial] with [Henry] recently,” Dixon stated on the Handbrake Off podcast. “We did some work collectively when [Man Utd] had the two games around Christmas time.
“I presumed he knew him because they’re from the equal area in France so I asked him about Martial.
“He said, ‘He’s precisely like I was when I came to Arsenal. He wants to go through the process like I did with you lot and I do not know if the Manchester United dressing room is like that’. He stated that was the making of him.
“To liken himself to Martial or another player to him, it in reality painted a picture of what Martial was like and what his persona was like because he is incredible gifted like Thierry was and I think his improvement would have been similar.
“I’m not saying he would have been as good as Thierry, however he would have been comparable if he had been in the old United dressing room with the characters like we had in our dressing room.
“He certainly talks about that as a real learning lesson in his curve to get to how extraordinary he was.
