Thierry Henry shows true colours with Arsenal warning in text message to Bukayo Saka

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry texted Bukayo Saka on the morning of the Gunners' clash with West Ham, as the winger matched an impressive milestone of his hero. Saka became just the second Arsenal star to score on their 200th appearance to follow in Henry's footsteps.

The England international scored from the penalty spot after Jurrien Timber was fouled to hand the north London side three points after Declan Rice had opened the scoring. Their efforts sent Arsenal top of the table, with Liverpool not kicking off against Chelsea until later in the day.

Henry was keen to keep Saka focused in the build-up to the game against the Irons. They have struggled this season and have already replaced Graham Potter with Nuno Espirito Santo.

And the former France international offered a small nudge to remind Saka that Arsenal have endured some unsatisfactory outcomes in recent times against the Hammers. Mikel Arteta's side lost their previous two home matches against their London rivals without scoring a goal but were able to record a more positive result on this occasion.

Asked about matching Henry's milestone, Saka commented on the impact the club icon continues to have. The Invincible is always pushing Arsenal's supersar.

"Thierry messaged me this morning to remind we lost the last two games to West Ham at home," Saka said. "He is always pushing me. I am really happy to have my name with his records.",

The 24-year-old was pleased with the progress Arsenal showed this term, as they look to go one place better in the league. It was an important game for the Gunners after recent seasons.

Saka said: "It showed the progress we have made. The last two seasons we slipped up at home against West Ham and we wanted to put that right today.

"We know the quality we have at the top end of the pitch and we know if we keep a clean sheet it is more than likely we will win the game."

Arsenal boss Arteta heaped praise on his side's talisman following the win. "It has been an incredible journey together," the Spaniard said.

"The way he has done it is special. He is loved by everybody and the numbers he is creating are incredible at his age - so much more to come from him."

Arteta was also pleased to see his side go top of the Premier League. "To go top of the table after some big fixtures over the last week and some injuries, we got some today but we were able to respond," he said.

"We dominated and fully deserved to win this. We had some big, big chances we didn't put away.

"The players who came on contributed to maintaining the standards. Let's look forward to the international break."

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