Emmanuel Petit believes Thierry Henry flopped in his first job as a manager because he was stuck in the mindset of a player.
And the Gunners’ World Cup-winning legend says former team-mate Henry’s legacy in France will forever be tainted by his fraudulent handball in the 2009 play-off against the Republic of Ireland.
Henry was sacked by Monaco in January, just three months and 20 games into his baptism as a head coach. Petit believes he knows the underlying reason.
He said: “Thierry was a tremendous player. Everyone knows what he has done on the pitch. Now he wants to be a manager and his first job at Monaco did not go well – I think he is still a player in his mind.
“You have to change the mentality – you can’t keep the player’s mindset if you want to be a manager. The way you talk to players and control training sessions is very important. Even if it’s your first job, footballers will test you constantly.
“As a player, Thierry was terrific and I hope he achieves the same as a manager. But I remember saying something to him at Arsenal .
“I told him, ‘Every time you score a goal, you should be more humble and try to have a connection with the fans, rather than living in your own world’. He didn’t like it.”
Petit also believes he knows why Henry – who scored 51 goals in 123 caps for Les Bleus – was less revered in France than in north London.
He said: “He enjoyed huge recognition in England, but in France he doesn’t have the same image, especially after what happened with Ireland – the handball and then ‘comforting’ the Irish players after the final whistle.”
And Petit, now 48, admits he was hasty in leaving the Gunners for Barcelona after just three years, admitting: “I knew very early on, perhaps after only a few weeks, that I had made a mistake.
“I wasn’t happy at Barcelona for many reasons, and wanted to come back to the Premier League.”
Full interview in Paddy Power’s new Pitch Invader magazine, free with Monday’s Daily Mirror
