Emmanuel Petit has revealed he once branded legendary Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry "extremely arrogant" after he excessively celebrated a goal at Highbury.
The French pair left a lasting legacy in North London with Henry in particular cementing his place in the Premier League 's hall of fame. The free-scoring forward struck 226 goals in 370 appearances for the Gunners and fired them to several pieces of silverware.
Among his honours at Arsenal, Henry won two Premier League titles - including one as part of the club's revered 'Invincibles' team of 2003-04 - and two FA Cups. To this day, the striker remains one of the greatest to ever have graced the Premier League, however, according to Petit there was a time when Henry needed to be brought down a peg or two.
The midfielder, who played alongside Henry at Arsenal between 1997 and 2000, opened up to French outlet RMC about an incident in which he clashed with his compatriot following an over-the-top celebration after he scored at Highbury. Petit revealed: "I had a conversation with Titi [Henry] in front of Arsene Wenger when we were playing for Arsenal.
"There were five of us at a sponsor's event, together with Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira. We had played a few days before, I think at Highbury, and Titi had scored twice.
"I hadn't liked his celebration one little bit. He had gone over to the corner flag, with an extremely arrogant attitude. I told him that myself and some of the other players didn't like the way he celebrated.
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"He understandably didn't take what I said at all well. But it was all too much as far as I was concerned. I challenged Arsene, and told him it wasn't my job to tell Henry off - instead it was down to him."
Despite his alleged "arrogance", Henry remains one of the most celebrated footballers in Premier League history. Arsenal even commemorated the Frenchman with a bronze statue back in 2011. The sculpture depicts Henry in an iconic knee-slide pose after he struck a stunner against fierce rivals Tottenham back in 2002.
Petit had departed North London two years prior to that memorable celebration, heading to Barcelona for a season before returning to the Premier League with Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea, where he spent three more seasons before retiring. As for Henry, he also moved on to Barcelona in 2007, before spending fours years in the MLS with New York Red Bulls after joining in 2010. The French forward made a fairytale Arsenal return in 2012 where he only added to his Gunners legacy during a brief loan spell.
Since retiring, Henry has turned his hand to management, but struggled to achieve success at either Monaco or Montreal Impact. Petit previously told The Mirror that he believes his former Arsenal team-mate may need to change his mindset in order to succeed on the touchline.
"As a player, Thierry was terrific and I hope he achieves the same as a manager," Petit admitted back in 2019. "But I remember saying something to him at ArsenaI.
"I told him, "Every time you score a goal, you should be more humble and try to have a connection with the fans, rather than living in your own world". He didn't like it."
