From Sir Matt Busby’s second stint at Manchester United to Sir Kenny Dalglish’s return to Liverpool, bringing back a beloved club icon can be a bit of a boost to fans in times of unrest.
And Nigel Winterburn believes Arsenal could do with that kind of tonic after the Gunners endured a disappointing season in which they finished a distant second to Premier League champions Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta’s side had fallen narrowly short of Manchester City over the previous two seasons, and were hoping last term might finally deliver their first league title since their 2003/04 Invincibles season.
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Mikel Arteta should bring Thierry Henry back for fourth Arsenal spell – Nigel Winterburn
Thierry Henry was a key part of that side, scoring 30 of his 175 league goals for the club that season.
The legendary forward – ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest Premier League players of all time – hung up his boots in 2014 to move into coaching, starting with a stint in Arsenal’s academy.
From there, Henry went on to serve as Roberto Martinez’ assistant in the Belgian national team over two stints sandwiching spells in charge or Monaco and Montral Impact.
Henry was most recently in charge of France under-21s, which included a run to the final of last year’s Paris Olympics.
France had to settle for silver after losing to Spain in the final, however, and Henry stepped down following the tournament.
Winterburn now believes Arteta should consider bringing Henry back to the Emirates Stadium to sit under his learning tree…possibly with a view to taking over from the Spaniard one day.
Winterburn told BetVictor: “From the legends of Arsenal, Thierry Henry is the one that in an ideal world he would one day go on to manage the club.
“There will always be that link, Arsenal also took a chance on Mikel Arteta from Manchester City and it’s worked out well.
“I’d love to see Henry working under Arteta at Arsenal, he could come in and have a big role, but who knows if he wants to forge his own path and manage another big club.
“You have to be careful of times with legends of the club and make sure they have earned it in their own right, but supporters would absolutely love it.”
