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Even Arsenal Invincible says Haaland and De Bruyne are better than Henry and Bergkamp

talksport.com, 29 April 2023, 10:56
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne could go down in history as the greatest forward partnership the Premier League has ever seen.

And that's according to Arsenal Invincible Martin Keown, who claims the Man City duo have 'gone to another level' and are now above Gunners legends Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp in the best-ever ranking.

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Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres - the list can go on and on.

The Premier League has been graced by some of the most iconic strike partnerships in football history, of two players who seem to boast telepathic powers, an understanding written in instinct and a link forged in respect for one another's strengths.

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For many, Henry and Bergkamp stand at the very pinnacle of that list of hallowed duos.

They may not top any combined scoring charts like some of the names mentioned above, but their partnership was one of longevity, success and unspeakable quality which got bums up off seats and sent jaws dropping to the floor on a weekly basis in their pomp for Arsene Wenger's Gunners.

Bergkamp, the creator. Classy with the ball at his feet and effortlessly performing tricks, flicks and goals millions of fans have attempted to recreate in the park and their back gardens ever since.

Henry, the finisher. The fact he is Arsenal's top goalscorer of all time and widely regarded as the best player to ever set foot on a Premier League pitch says it all.

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But have they met their match in the current Man City duo that is tearing their opponents to shreds?

Haaland may have had his teething problems finding his place, but he now looks back to his unstoppable best, and he has the perfect wing-man in De Bruyne who is beginning to prove he is in a class of his own as the Premier League best ever creative midfielder.

And Keown places them above all others, including his former Highbury teammates.

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"This is one of the best Premier League teams we've ever seen," the former Arsenal centre-back told talkSPORT following the Gunners' 4-1 defeat to their title rivals this week.

"I thought Bergkamp and Henry was one hell of a partnership for Arsenal back in the day, but in De Bruyne and Haaland, I think maybe it's gone to another level.

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"Haaland is such a young man and he just terrorised Arsenal's defence.

"And De Bruyne's movement… I mean, wow.

"I thought Pep Guardiola was quite magnificent with his tactics. City have fine-tuned their system and Arsenal were in real disarray. They couldn't cope."

However, Keown was not all doom and gloom about the result and what it meant for Arsenal's title challenge as perhaps other Gooners have been all this week.

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No. Instead he offered hope to upset supporters, insisting 'this is the beginning' and their title run has been just a sign of what is to come from Mikel Arteta's side.

"What I'm trying to do here is acknowledge the greatness of Man City and what Arsenal are up against," he said to talkSPORT hosts Jim White and Simon Jordan.

"It's about building for Arsenal and getting a squad that can go all the way. At the moment they've gone some of the way.

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"Rio Ferdinand called me out for saying Arsenal are winners, and I think he was completely out of order, because it's about the way that they're building.

"If you win tackles and win headers, you win matches, and if you go on a run of winning matches, you win trophies. The only thing missing from Arsenal at the moment is the winning trophies part. That's what they need to do.

"But we've had a chance to fight! We've been in the race! For many years Arsenal haven't, so we can applaud that.

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"And it's going to get bigger. People like you I can feel it, I can sense it in you, [you think] that's it for Arsenal - no, no, no, it's not. It's just the beginning.

"Of course, Man City will also get stronger. So do we all give up, then? No!

"We need winners now and they're going to get stronger players, buy more rugged central defenders and the squad will grow and build.

"This is the beginning. I'm convinced Arteta will do something special if they can keep him there."

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