EPL: Thierry Henry makes honest claim about Ronaldo, Fernandes

Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry has explained why Bruno Fernandes is scoring fewer goals and providing fewer assists at Manchester United.

He noted that the arrival of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Christian Eriksen means that the Portugal midfielder relinquishes some responsibilities such as penalties and free-kick taking.

Fernandes is not racking up the stats like he did when he first arrived at Old Trafford in January 2020, when he scored eight goals in his first 14 Premier League games, then netting 18 times in his first full season.

The Portugal international netted ten times in the English topflight last campaign, but has scored just twice in his first nine league appearances this time around.

Henry feels that the coming of Ronaldo and Christian Eriksen have also not helped Fernandes’ statistics.

“I always say in an orchestra you have one conductor. He leads the tempo of the game,” Henry said on Amazon Prime.

“When he first arrived it was about him, and the numbers he had in his first season were the numbers you have after three or four seasons at a club.

“It was always going to go a bit lower, but then Ronaldo arrives, the ball goes to Ronaldo, a penalty, a free-kick goes to Ronaldo so your confidence is a bit lower.

“Eriksen arrives. You don’t play with two balls or three balls. You have the ball less so you cannot affect the tempo of the game.”