Henry praises forgotten former Arsenal star after getting one over old side
Thierry Henry has expressed his delight for Donyell Malen after watching the Borussia Dortmund star shine in the Champions League.
The Dutch striker spent two years within the Arsenal academy and even played under Henry during his time as the Gunners’ under-19s coach. Malen was eventually sold by Arsene Wenger in August 2017 to PSV.
Malen shone for the Eredivisie side, scoring 55 goals in 116 appearances before a move to Borussia Dortmund. He endured a slow start to life with the German outfit.
He has now found his feet, though, and scored against his former side in their 1-1 draw in the Champions League last 16. Henry has remained a fan of Malen and praised him both before and after the game.
“I like Donyell Malen,” he said. “I like his story. He is coming back to the ground where he won the league six years ago with Eindhoven. He had to battle cruciate ligaments.
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"A lot of stories. He was at Ajax as a youngster. He couldn’t cope with it, then he came to Arsenal and couldn’t make it at Arsenal, then he went to Eindhoven and he made a path for himself.”
After seeing Malen tuck home the opening goal of the game - his 11th of the season - Henry added: “I had him for a year because I was passing my badges there. It didn’t work out for him at Arsenal. I thought he had some quality, but at Arsenal, you have a lot of quality.
Donyell Malen celebrates scoring against PSV in the Champions League (Getty Images)Should Arsenal regret selling Donyell Malen? Share your thoughts in the comments below
“Then he went to Eindhoven and played for a young PSV. That’s the second team and he ended up doing brilliantly, which I am very happy about because, at the very beginning, people were doubting him. He trusted himself and his qualities, with his family, and he made it happen and won the league with PSV.
“Now, he plays for Holland. He scored tonight. It must have been emotional to play against Eindhoven, a team that he won the league with almost six years ago, so I am very happy for him.”
Thanks to his excellent form, Malen has been linked with a potential move away from Dortmund - including a chance to return to English football with Manchester United.
It was reported that they turned down the chance to sign him for £26million. It was also suggested that he could have been involved in a swap deal that would have seen Jadon Sancho move back to Dortmund. Sancho eventually rejoined the club, but Malen also stayed. The latter’s contract is set to run until the summer of 2026.
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