Ex-Arsenal ace believes Mikel Arteta shares same key quality as Thierry Henry, it ‘can’t be taught’

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Former Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson believes Mikel Arteta shares similarities with Gunners legend Thierry Henry.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have been in the last two Premier League title races but have come out second-best on both occasions to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and the Gunners could be in the race for the league crown once again.

Arsenal have picked up seven points from their opening nine available with a frustrating home draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium with Declan Rice sent off against the Seagulls.

It’s been a promising start for the Gunners and the hope will be that they can finally win the Premier League title, their first league crown since 2004.

Carl Jenkinson compares Mikel Arteta to Thierry Henry

Former Arsenal right-back Carl Jenkinson has been speaking to talkSPORT and has compared the Spanish manager, someone that Jenkinson played alongside during his time at the Emirates Stadium, has compared the former midfielder to Thierry Henry.

Arteta and Jenkinson both joined Arsenal in 2011, with the former becoming Arsenal captain in 2014 up until his retirement in 2016.

“Yeah, Arteta has an aura you can’t manufacture if you know what I mean,” Jenkinson said when asked if he could see Arteta becoming a manager.

“The way he speaks and when he walks in the room and talks, you listen. Obviously he has the football knowledge to go along with it, but that’s something you can’t sort of teach.”

As well as this, according to Jenkinson, Arteta is in fine company on his list of former teammates who possessed this quality.

He said: “He just had that aura. I haven’t met many people with that. Thierry Henry would probably be the only other one I would say was similar. But Mikel just had that. If he spoke, you listened.”

Mikel Arteta needs a major trophy to cement his Arsenal legacy

Since becoming manager of the Gunners back in December of 2019, the Spaniard has won just one FA Cup since his appointment in North London.

After missing out on the Premier League title twice to Pep Guardiola, who employed Arteta as a coach at Manchester City, the Gunners will be hoping to stop the rot.

With Arsenal’s additions of Raheem Sterling, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori, Arteta has to believe that he can finally lift that special trophy in May.