Marcus Rashford reveals he’s still learning from Thierry Henry after Man Utd ace studied Arsenal icon as a kid
WHEN Thierry Henry speaks he does not realise one person in particular is hanging on his every word.
Sat at home dreaming of becoming a Premier League player, Marcus Rashford would study Arsenal’s 228-goal all-time record scorer.
Now when the Manchester United ace sees the French legend, 43, on TV talking football he loves to listen and learn.
Rashford explained: “He was someone that I paid close detail to and he is just a wonderful footballer.
“He really knows his football as well, so I still listen to his interviews and the way he speaks about finishing.”
The United frontman has 81 goals in 242 appearances for Manchester United.
Yet he has never considered himself a conventional Premier League centre-forward — or out-and-out striker.
Instead, as a teenager knocking on United’s first-team door he saw a connection more with how jet-heeled Henry had played for Arsenal.
While the traditional English striker tended to be a target man, Rashford preferred Henry’s style and his movement across the pitch.
He said: “When I was about 16 or 17, when I first started to play in that No 9 role, Henry was someone that I looked at because he is not a traditional No 9.
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“He is someone that drifts to the left, he does things with the ball, he is just not what you would consider the traditional striker in English football.
“When I first went into the No 9 position, I knew I could never be that type of traditional No 9.
“Someone who is going to hold the ball up, win headers and do stuff like that.
“But I also know the qualities that I do have and what I can do as a striker.
“At the time, he was someone I looked to because I could see similarities with what I wanted my end goal to look like with the way he was playing.”
And that learning curve has clearly not stopped yet.
Rashford added: “It is important for me to keep taking in that knowledge.
“I just try to treat my brain like a sponge really and really soak up as much information in as I can.”
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