Premier League striker Troy Deeney said he would choose Thierry Henry over Didier Drogba in his dream XI, though he acknowledged Drogba’s impact on how modern striking is played.
According to a report from talkSPORT, former Watford front-man Troy Deeney was asked to choose between Chelsea icon Didier Drogba and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry for his dream side.
He didn’t hesitate: “I think the general consensus would be Thierry, because he could play anywhere across the front. Didier was just a beast, man. I’d have to go for Thierry.”
Deeney was quick to stress, however, that his admiration for Drogba remains. “But that takes nothing away from Didier. I also think Didier Drogba changed the way we played with strikers.”
The report recalls that Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and went on to win two Premier League titles and four Golden Boots, scoring 175 goals in 258 league appearances — part of what made him one of the greatest forwards in Premier League history.
In contrast, Drogba scored 104 goals in 254 matches across his two spells at Chelsea, won four league titles, and became a trailblazer for the lone-striker system that gave birth to the widespread use of formations like 4-3-3 and 4-5-1.
Deeney’s comments come ahead of a major London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal, reigniting the perennial debate over who ranks higher in English football’s pantheon of great strikers.