'He's a warrior' - Kanu backs Henry to bounce back and get Arsenal managerial job

Thierry Henry is a "warrior" who will bounce back from his disastrous spell as Monaco boss.

That is the view for Henry’s former Arsenal team-mate Nwankwo Kanu, who believes the Gunners legend could still realise his dream of one day landing the top job at the Emirates.

Henry took up his first management role in November 2018, taking over from Leonardo Jardim at Monaco, but endured a miserable time at the helm of the Ligue 1 outfit.

He won just five of his 20 games in all competitions before being sacked, with Jardim returning to the principality to guide them away from the relegation zone.

Henry admits his first experience in management was a painful one, but insists it has not dented his desire to go on and become a successful coach.

And Kanu - who played with Henry for five years between 1999 and 2004 - is adamant Arsenal’s record goalscorer has what it takes to reach the top once again.

“He’s a warrior,” the Nigeria legend exclusively told Goal. “Somebody who doesn’t give up.

“I think he did it [at Monaco] but it didn’t work. But it’s always good to go and get the experience and see how it works.

“If it goes good or it goes bad, that doesn’t change who you are. You have to keep going and I know he is not someone who takes defeat.

“He wants to win, so he will bounce back and coach again at a good club.”

Henry has never hidden his desire to one day return to Arsenal as manager and was suggested as a possibility before Unai Emery was appointed as Arsene Wenger’s successor.

“If you love a place and they ask – I repeat, they ask – for help, you are always going to say yes,” Henry said in March 2018, soon after Wenger had announced he would be ending his 21-year stay in north London at the end of his contract.

The prospect of Arsenal’s greatest goalscorer getting the top job one day now looks like a remote one, however, following his disappointing spell at Monaco.

But Kanu still would not back against it.

“I believe that is what he is aiming at,” said the 43-year-old.

“It’s the club where he is a legend, the club that loves him. So why not? That’s where he is supposed to be.”

Two former team-mates of Kanu and Henry have taken up high profile positions at Arsenal during the past few months.

Freddie Ljungberg left his role as Under-23s boss to move up to join Unai Emery’s first-team staff, while Edu arrived late in the summer to become the club’s first technical director.

And Kanu believes the appointments can only be a good thing, considering what both men achieved during their playing careers in north London and hopes more players from the Invincibles era can return.

“It’s always good news when one of us goes there,” he said.

“When we played there we played with our minds and our heart. So to see them come back to a club they worked, sacrificed and did everything for is of course a bonus.

“We want them to do well so more openings will be there for other players that have finished their careers.”