Thierry Henry reveals private conversation with Arsenal star before Atletico Madrid win | Football

Thierry Henry praised Bukayo Saka’s efforts to battle back from injury after his goal helped fire Arsenal to their first Champions League final in 20 years.

Saka has had his minutes carefully managed over the past week after returning from an Achilles injury, which ruled him out for the previous five matches.

The Arsenal winger was devastating against Fulham on the weekend when back in the starting lineup, and produced the goods again on Tuesday night against Atletico Madrid.

Saka made way just before the hour mark, having scored before half-time, with the Gunners holding on to secure a 2-1 aggregate win and place in the final later this month.

And Henry was quick to praise Saka post-match, revealing that the winger has spoken about his determination to get back to full fitness when the pair spoke over the last week.

Speaking on CBS, Henry said: ‘I would love to see if we can speak to Bukayo because I want him to explain to people that being a footballer is not so much always about the glamorous time.

‘He’s been questioned all season. Can he be the guy? Is he not the guy? Is he the star boy? Is he not the star boy? Is he better than him or not better than him? Today he had to play with barely training. I know he’s suffering with his Achilles tendon.

‘He came back, I spoke to him and he came back and was like: ‘I’ve got to be on the pitch. I’ve got to be on the pitch against Fulham. I have to be. It’s do or die’.

‘So you have to give those guys a lot of credit. Sometimes we take it for granted. We all played through injuries. We all played with moments where you’re not 100 per cent and he had to do it, deliver it for Arsenal.’

Henry was also keen to praise the performance of Viktor Gyokeres, who missed his golden opportunity in the second half but otherwise ran Atletico’s defence ragged at the Emirates.

‘If I take the example of Gyokeres, the jury was out on him,’ he added. ‘It’s not a bad thing. Embrace it. Try to prove people wrong. Tonight he did.

‘Not only tonight, in the last month, I will give him his credit. He’s running, he looks solid and a bit more like a number nine that you can be scared of.

‘What I like also is the way they look for him early – play to the strength of the guy because if not, I’m going to see his weaknesses instead of seeing his strong points.

‘Now, because of the way they utilise him, I can see what he’s good at and what he’s not good at. It’s a difference. The guy feels more comfortable to make the run where he’s going to excel and not going to see his weakness.’

A jubilant Mikel Arteta was equally impressed with the performances of Gyokeres in the second leg, telling Amazon Prime: ‘He [Gyokeres] was immense. You can see the reaction from the crowd every time he has the ball, his work rate and what he’s giving the team is just incredible.’

On Saka’s winning goal, the Spanish coach added: ‘It had to be someone very special and certainly he is very special with me and the boys and everyone attached with this club. If it had to be someone scoring that goal, it probably had to be him.’

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