Arsenal ‘hurt’ legend Thierry Henry with rejection

Robin Bairner

• 5 Jun 2024 10:10 BST
• 3 min read

Thierry Henry has been left “hurt” by Arsenal’s decision not to release William Saliba for the 2024 Olympic Games, according to a report.

Henry named a squad of 25 players for the competition on Monday, and while the France U21 boss had hoped for some stellar names in his selection, he has not been able to get all of the players he wanted.

But among all the knockbacks he received, L’Equipe indicates that it was Arsenal’s rejection of Saliba that stung the most.

READ MORE: Arsenal ahead of Man Utd for €120m star as Red Devils’ two ENDORSED targets revealed

STATS

William Saliba

D (C)

Arsenal

William Saliba

D (C)

Arsenal

All Tournaments

2023/24

• 50

  Games

• 2

  Goals

• 1

  Assists

View all stats

“The ‘no’ that probably hurt Henry the most was that of Arsenal,” the paper says.

“His former club refused to make William Saliba available, an important player for the Olympic coach, despite the fact that he is already selected with the senior team for the European Championship, albeit without the prospect of significant playing time during the competition, especially at the point Henry held the discussions, when Saliba was not even sure of appearing on Didier Deschamps' list.

“Gunners legend Henry, who has his statue in front of the Emirates, could have expected a gesture of recognition from his former club. It has not happened.”

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Henry's Olympic advances spurned

Arsenal are far from the only club to have rejected Henry’s advances to take players away for the France team.

Chelsea notably denied Les Bleuets the opportunity to have any of Malo Gusto, Benoit Badiashile and Christopher Nkunku, although they have allowed midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu to join Henry’s squad.

Similarly, Aston Villa turned down a request to release either Moussa Diaby or Lucas Digna, who like Nkunku could have featured as one of three overage players.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, were the first to knock back Henry, a former Barcelona player. They made it clear Eduardo Camavinga could not play, while that stance has also followed for Kylian Mbappe, who had previously admitted playing in the tournament would be a “dream”.

This competition is particularly important to France this year as the Olympics are being staged in Paris, with the football tournament taking place all over the country.