Jens Lehmann leaves Thierry Henry out of his Arsenal dream team, picks surprise striker

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Jens Lehmann is widely regarded as one of the top goalkeepers in Arsenal’s history.

He arrived at the club in 2003, taking over from David Seaman as the new number one between the sticks. Lehmann didn’t miss a game that season, keeping 15 clean sheets and playing a key role in Arsenal’s unbeaten title run.

Thierry Henry was undoubtedly the star of Arsene Wenger’s side that year, but he doesn’t make Lehmann’s dream XI. Instead, Nwankwo Kanu gets the nod.

Jens Lehmann picks Nwankwo Kanu over Thierry Henry in Dream Team Selection

Kanu joined Arsenal from Inter Milan in 1999 for £4.5 million, and while he may not have reached the heights of Henry or Bergkamp, he still played a key role during his time with the club.

Over five years, Kanu made 197 appearances for Arsenal and was involved in 79 goals. His memorable hat-trick against Chelsea remains one of his standout moments.

Lehmann and Kanu only shared one season together at Arsenal, featuring alongside each other 20 times across all competitions, including just 10 Premier League matches.

Even so, Kanu left a strong impression on Lehmann, who chose him over Henry when naming his dream six-a-side team from players he’d played with.

The rest of Lehmann’s picks – Lauren, Ashley Cole, Robert Pires, and Dennis Bergkamp – are less surprising choices. But seeing Kanu included ahead of some bigger names is a bit unexpected.

Jens Lehmann made another surprise pick in his dream team

Few would have expected Jens Lehmann to choose Nwankwo Kanu over Thierry Henry for his all-time XI teammate pick. The two played together just 20 times during their careers.

That was unexpected enough on its own, but another choice stood out even more – this time between the sticks.

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The tension between Manuel Almunia and Jens Lehmann is well known so it’s no surprise he wasn’t picked. But naming Graham Stack instead was certainly unexpected.

The English goalkeeper spent several years at Arsenal after coming through their academy system but only made five first-team appearances during that time.