Chelsea hero John Terry has revealed that the prospect of having to mark Thierry Henry used to keep him up the night before his side faced Arsenal.

Terry picked Henry for his dream Premier League XI alongside former England teammate, Wayne Rooney, this week.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, the centre-back, who now plays for Aston Villa, admitted that having to mark the Arsenal legend was terrifying.

“Coming up against Arsenal, [Henry] was so quick,” Terry said. “He was the best by far. He had everything, like the silent assassin, could score with his head, go short, go in behind.

“Literally the night before games, he is the one player in my career where I’d be thinking: ‘It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow.’ Nobody but him had that effect on me in my career.”

Henry had a pretty decent record against the Blues so it’s understandable that Terry wouldn’t be able to sleep before having to mark him. In 20 clashes, Arsenal won nine and only lost four while Henry was on the pitch and the Frenchman personally netted 10 goals.

henry terry
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Arsenal’s Thierry Henry (R) heads the ball over Chelsea’s John Terry during their Champions League quarter-final second leg football match 06 April, 2004 at Highbury Stadium, London. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

As well as being one of the best forwards in the world, the now-40-year-old also played for the Gunners when they were genuinely scary to face. Arsene Wenger had coached the side into a new era and, seeing as Terry was at Chelsea from 1998-2017, he got to witness most of it.

What’s more, Chelsea weren’t quite the force they are now. Before Roman Abramovich stepped in and poured money into the club in 2003, the Blues were distinctly average.

Saying that, I don’t think many defenders would have enjoyed playing against Thierry Henry at his best. No matter how good they were.