Kylian Mbappe hailed Thierry Henry for paving the way for future France stars, after matching the Les Bleus legend on 51 international goals. The Real Madrid ace scored France's second in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Ukraine in Poland on Friday.

Henry came close again in 2006, finishing third behind Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon, who had just helped Italy lift the World Cup that summer. He had also placed fourth twice—first in 2000, after helping France win the European Championship, and again in 2004, following another outstanding campaign with Arsenal.

Albeit a winger by nature, Thierry Henry was often deployed as Arsenal ’s leading No.9 by Arsene Wenger; and, well, it paid off for the French duo as his role as a lethal bagsman fired the north Londoners to a duo of Premier League titles between 1999 and 2007. That included the capital club’s ‘Invincibles’ campaign.

The Swedish striker has already shown promising signs with a goal in pre-season against Athletic Bilbao and Gunners legend Henry believes he will thrive under Mikel Arteta this term