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Arsenal legend Wright claims Salah has done something that Henry and Bergkamp couldn’t

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By Meghna Sengupta

With Arsene Wenger’s retirement, there has been a lot of talks about the iconic manager’s legendary ‘Invincibles’ season and it is almost impossible to talk about it without Thierry Henry’s name coming up.

An out-and-out Arsenal hero, Henry continues to be regarded as one of the greatest players to have graced the Premier League so far.

However, another Arsenal bigshot seems to be of the opinion that Mohamed Salah has done something even Henry couldn’t.

Ian Wright has expressed his admiration for the speedy Egyptian winger, who has impressed fans and critics alike with his swashbuckling displays.

Wright played alongside the likes of Henry and Dennis Bergkamp – both of whom were foreigners to the English top-flight, just like Salah. However, according to Wright, the ease with which Salah has adjusted and flourished in a league as demanding as the Premier League is truly commendable.

“Before it’s pointed out, I’m well aware that Salah has to do it for many years before he can be spoken of as one of the all-time great,” Wright wrote in The Sun (h/t Daily Star).

“Yet in terms of a debut season in English football? Well, I have to say the Liverpool hero has managed something not even those two Arsenal legends achieved.

“Thierry and Dennis are rightly viewed as two of the finest foreigners not just to pull on a Gunners shirt, but to light up the Premier League in general.

“Yet it’s easy to forget now, given the heights they went on to scale so regularly, how both took time to adjust when they first arrived in England.”

Wright also went on to mention that Henry and Bergkamp had arrived after serving forgettable spells with the likes of Juventus and Inter Milan and that they took time to rise to great heights.

“Egyptian ace Salah, on the other hand, didn’t just hit the ground running, he did so at such a pace that he would have left even Usain Bolt for dead,” concluded Wright.

Over the years, we have seen players like Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria struggle to deal with the rigours of the Premier League despite being top-class players in different leagues.

In comparison, Salah seems to have proven the entire notion wrong by picking up the PFA Player of the Year award in his debut season.

While it is true that Salah has a long way to go before he is regarded as a modern-day legend, one cannot deny that he has truly achieved something that not many have done before.