Joan Laporta Backs Thierry Henry's Arsenal Dream, Compares Him to Pep Guardiola

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has compared Thierry Henry to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and believes he has what it takes to replace Arsene Wenger as Arsenal boss.

Laporta discussed Henry's wish to take over from Wenger in the future during an interview with the Telegraph (h/t AS), saying his "dream" should become a reality:

"The same requirements we were appreciating in Pep Guardiola when we decided to put him as a coach of the first team, Thierry has many of them. If he wants to become a coach and more specifically wants to coach Arsenal, then it is because he is convinced he will do it very well because he is looking for excellence all the time—just as when he was a player. He knows football, as one of the best players in the world. These kinds of people, like Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff, they know football very well."

He also said Henry would make a fine coach, and his sterling reputation means it would not be "acceptable to fail."

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Henry joined Roberto Martinez as an assistant coach with the Belgium national team in 2016, marking his first major move into coaching. He has also worked as a pundit and remained in the public eye as a result, leading to calls he could replace Wenger following several poor results for the Gunners.

Per BBC 5 live Sport, Henry has said he's flattered by the speculation, and he would certainly bring some positivity to the club―even if he's relatively inexperienced:

The Gunners have lost back-to-back contests, following up a 2-1 home defeat against minnows Ostersunds in the UEFA Europa League with a 3-0 loss against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

In both matches, Arsenal fell well short of expectations, leading to familiar calls for Wenger's tenure to come to an end.

Per The Times' Henry Winter, it's long overdue:

While Guardiola found almost instant success with Barcelona when he became manager in 2008, the Spaniard did have one season of coaching under his belt already. He was in charge of Barcelona B during the 2007-08 campaign, winning promotion with the side.

The list of coaches who started their careers at a big club and found immediate success is a short one. Zinedine Zidane's story is almost identical to that of Guardiola―he also had a spell in charge of Real Madrid's B team, Real Madrid Castilla, before he was promoted.

Conventional wisdom would see Henry earn his stripes at a smaller club, while the Gunners try their luck with a more experienced coach. Brendan Rodgers of Celtic and Germany manager Joachim Low are both mentioned as candidates by AS.