Folarin Balogun and Tyreece John-Jules have spoken about the time they were left star-struck when Thierry Henry took over training at Hale-End, as they told England’s official YouTube account.
The Hale-End stars shared that Henry took charge of training for a week when they were younger and even joined in which was ‘mad’.
As boyhood Arsenal fans and attacking players, it would have been surreal to have been coached by one of the greatest of all time.
Henry is regarded by some as the greatest Premier League player of all time and perhaps the greatest in Arsenal’s history.
Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that both Balogun and John-Jules were speaking highly of the Premier League hall of fame star and his surprise visit to Hale-End many years ago.
On who he has been star-struck by: “Maybe when I was 14 and Thierry, he was our coach for like a week or something,” said Balogun. “He came to Hale-End, to the academy.
“We were just coming in for training and I didn’t even know he was training us. When I saw him, it was just scenes.”
John-Jules added: “Remember when he joined in training? It was just mad. He never lost it. It was crazy to see him live in the flesh. It’s a moment I will never forget.”
Now, both Balogun and John-Jules are 20 and 21, respectively, so now it’s their turn to make a name for themselves on the senior stage.
Both are out on-loan, with Balogun recently signing a new contract in north London and the duo will be hoping to be part of Mikel Arteta’s team going forward.
Arsenal have the youngest squad in the Premier League this season, plus the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe are proof that the door is open for them.
It’s just a case of those inside Hale-End taking that all-important chance that is handed to them.
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