CHERRY HENRY
Bournemouth hope pep talk from Arsenal legend Thierry will spur them on to victory
EDDIE HOWE hopes words of wisdom from Arsenal legend Thierry Henry will help Bournemouth shoot down the Frenchman’s beloved Gunners.
Henry held a motivational pep talk with Howe’s players while on a recent trip to the south coast on behalf of the French Football Federation.
Bournemouth boss Howe (above), whose team take on Henry’s old club tomorrow, said: “We got Thierry in to talk to the players as we do from time to time with various people, not just footballers.
“Thierry was excellent, he spoke at length to the players about his career and how he was so successful. It was a really beneficial talk.
“It was a combination of a lot of things, definitely the mental side, his mental strength and his desire to be the best.
“There were a lot of things in there and if it is just one thing a player finds inspiring then it is beneficial. It was interesting to see how the players reacted to what he said and hopefully they took something away, not just for now but for the future.”
Henry had been sent to the Vitality Stadium to check on the progress of fellow countryman and Bournemouth forward Lys Mousset (below left) when he was approached by Howe.
Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser, who played a key role in last season’s thrilling 3-3 draw in this fixture, said: “We were in a meeting and were told we had a special guest coming in.
“Then Thierry Henry walked in and you were like, ‘What? Is this real?’
“He was talking about training techniques and saying he wanted to respect his team-mates by showing he was better than them – not to make them annoyed or frustrate them.
“But he felt he had to go out on the pitch and be better to show them why he was keeping them out of the team. I thought that was interesting because in football things go on behind the scenes and you don’t want people taking your spot.
“I didn’t know, when you’re that good a player, do you just go into training and say, ‘I’m already the best, I don’t need to show it today, I’ll do it in the game on the Saturday’.
“He said no, every day in training he wanted to be the best player, he wanted to show everyone he was the best and I think that was a good insight.”