Sir Alex Ferguson speaks on Arsenal player who made manchester united rivalry very intense.

The Sir Alex Ferguson speaks Arsenal player who made manchester united rivalry very intense.

Legendary Manchester united manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that the signing of Thierry Henry in 1999 took the rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal to the next level.

The 79-year-old opened up about his rivalry with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in a segment of the Frenchman’s biopicArsene Wenger: Invincible.

The legendary manager explained how the signing of Thierry Henry by the Gunners and his transition from a winger to a striker made the rivalry between arsenal and Manchester united more intense. He said:

“It became toxic for a while. The big change that made Arsenal was reinventing [Thierry] Henry. And the goals he scored, he was fantastic. You’re always looking in the rear-view mirror to see who’s coming up behind you, and when you see someone you accelerate. Arsenal were catching us up, and their team was good enough to go above us, there’s no question about that.”

Thierry Henry joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999 for a then club-record fee of £11 million. He started as a left winger, but Arsene Wenger decided that his compatriot was more suited to a central role.

Changing Thierry Henry’s position for Arsenal paid off immensely as Henry would go on to become the club’s top scorer, with 228 goals in 377 appearances across all competitions.

Arsenal Legend Thiery Henry (Photo by GettyImages)

Thierry Henry was named Premier League Player of the Season twice. He also won the Premier League Golden Boot four times and the European Golden Shoe twice while playing for the Gunners.

Henry was a major part of Arsenal’s two Premier League-winning teams, including the Invincibles in the 2003-04 season.

Sir Alex Ferguson was also full of praise for Arsene Wenger’s achievements as Arsenal manager.

The former Manchester United boss is the one of the most decorated manager in Premier League history, with 13 league titles to his name. However, he considers Wenger’s achievement during the Invincible season to be above all his triumphs. He explained:

“I won 13 leagues but I was never near going through a season undefeated. The achievement stands above everything else, and it was Arsene’s.”

Sir Alex Ferguson on Arsène Wenger;

“He kept Arsenal in Europe every year and yet he was criticised. The supporters should be ashamed.”