Henry vs Cantona - who was better

[VP89]

Genuine question - which player was more talented, and which player showed their talent more on the pitch.

Making this thread as I'm curious to know whether my Arsenal supporting friend is right in saying "Cantona is overhyped. They just blow gas up his ass because he was the "catalyst" for your dominance".

True? False? Was Henry comfortably better?

I have no recollection one way or the other, I was still a bit too young to appreciate Cantona at his time.

 

[Fully Fledged]

Completely different players.

 

[duffer]

Cantona was excellent but Henry was better and it's not really that close.

 

[Spoony]

Cantona era was great.

 

[Dante]

I don't want to say.

 

[2cents]

Henry was the better player. Cantona was more than a player for us though.

 

[Gio]

Very contrasting types of forward, but Henry.

 

[WR10]

Cantona was revolutionary in transforming Manchester United into the arrogant and dominant champions that is their identity today. Was he as talented at football as Henry? No. If I was to repeat history which would I choose in Manchester United's path? Cantona, 100 times out of 100.

Cantona at United forged an identity for the club. Henry at Arsenal forged an identity for himself.

 

[The Boy]

Henry was arguably the best player to ever play in the Premiership. Cantona was great for you and should be remembered as your most important player for a good chunk of the 90s. But sorry to say Henry was the better player.

 

[The Corinthian]

Cantona took a perenially underperforming / sleeping giant of a team and led them to 4 PL wins out of 5 (missing one due to his ban), with two of those PL wins being league and cup doubles. He left us in a state to dominate the footballing landscape for another 15 years. He was a lynchpin and talisman for our team in the 90s. Old Trafford was his playground and he ushered in the generation that followed (Fergie's Fledglings) and the passing of the mantle onto Keane. His effect on us cannot be understated.

Henry was a great PL player as well, and purely in terms of talent you'd say Henry is better (although there's not much in it), but in terms of who will go down as being more important, and having a bigger impact, it's Cantona for me everytime.

 

[El Zoido]

Cantona is my favourite ever player, and logically I’d still have to say Henry. Cantona made me love football though, and I’ve never enjoyed watching a player as much as I did watching Eric. Pure emotion.

Different players in different eras though. Football was really a lot dirtier in Cantona’s era. Not just in terms of tackling, but also the horrendous state of some of the pitches and grounds. It was just rougher and felt like a different game in so many ways. The game had started to become more commercialised and cleaned up in Henry’s era. Cantona was at the start of the Sky Sports age, but the money hadn’t quite impacted on the game so much yet.

 

[11101]

Henry was the better player, and it's not close. Nobody in the Premier League has ever had the mentality and impact of King Eric though. He was Sir Alex Ferguson morphed onto the pitch.

 

[calodo2003]

Henry was the better player.

Cantona was the more impactful player for his respective club.

 

[Spoony]

1-0 Cantona. Seemed to be the case every week. For me he'll always be one of our greatest, sure we'll have better players but they won't be Cantona. He really was our talisman back them much like Robbo in the 80s.

 

[clarkydaz]

Henry better footballer, Cantona has the fairytale legacy

 

[Counterfactual]

Genuine question - which player was more talented, and which player showed their talent more on the pitch.

Making this thread as I'm curious to know whether my Arsenal supporting friend is right in saying "Cantona is overhyped. They just blow gas up his ass because he was the "catalyst" for your dominance".

True? False? Was Henry comfortably better?

I have no recollection one way or the other, I was still a bit too young to appreciate Cantona at his time.

How can you compare the two?

Being the catalyst is 100% why Cantona's such a legend. With his chest stuck out and collar turned up, he looked like he owned Old Trafford and that belief was critical to our success while he was with us.

We needed someone truly special to help us win our first title in 26 years. Sometimes it's not just about kicking the ball.

 

[roonster09]

Henry was better player.

 

[Sayros]

Not a great comparison but Henry without a shadow of a doubt, it's not really debatable. It doesn't take away from the fact that Cantona is an absolute legend at United and was crucial to turning United into what it became with his swag and play style. He's definitely the King, but Henry is just a different level and for me the greatest premier league player ever. There's no shame coming behind that guy.

 

[GoonerBear]

It's a strange comparison. I'd say Bergkamp vs Cantona would be a better comparison in terms of playing style.

 

[sun_tzu]

Probably Henry but they would have been a hell of a partnership with Cantona in that Bergkamp role

 

[TheReligion]

Henry the more complete footballer that's for sure. Would I have swapped him for Eric though? Not a chance.

 

[roonster09]

Henry was the better player but if given a choice of signing Cantona in the early 90s vs signing Henry in late 90s, it's Cantona all the time

 

[red4ever 79]

It's a strange comparison. I'd say Bergkamp vs Cantona would be a better comparison in terms of playing style.

Pretty much this. Completely different players

Henry is one of the very best Premier league players ever, probably in the top 2.
Cantona is the most iconic premier league player ever. Collar up and made football fashionable.

 

[Cassidy]

Being different players of different styles doesn't negate the fact Henry was comfortably better, its not even debatable

 

[Castia]

From a United prospective we’re going to say Cantona but I think outside of our club the vast majority go with Henry.

 

[RUCK4444]

Cantona was and still is an icon, the majority of fans my age site him as the chief reason they first started supporting the club. The absolute aura of the man. He had more swagger than anybody at the time or since, no debate.
He was the final piece in the jigsaw to win the title and he kickstarted a whole new era of dominance.

Henry a better player technically? Yes. But I know who had the bigger impact on their club and this league as a result... theres only one King.

 

[padr81]

Henry. Its actually kind of weird how little Cantona gets brought up in the list of best ever PL players/attackers. He's almost become hugely underrated.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Eric, a technical marvel in a way Thierry never was.

 

[Lay]

Henry. Cantona was brilliant but Henry was contesting for the Ballon D'or and scoring 20+ goals a season with a bagful of assists too.

 

[SirMarcusRashford]

I've got memories of Manchester United from 1992 onwards and Cantona is the 2nd best player I've ever seen play for the United (behind C.Ronaldo) but is my favourite United player of all time.

Cantona for me, Henry great as he was, don't think would have been able to do what Cantona did for United if he played for United.

Cantona was an icon for all kids growing up playing football in the 90s, even non-United fans had their collar up when having a kick about on the park or playing for school/Sunday league.

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Cantona of course.

 

[wolvored]

Henry is the best Premier player I have seen. Wenger could see he wasnt cut out as just a winger and developed him into the fantastic player/goalscorer he became.
Cantona was the catalyst for us to step up as THE Premier team for 20 years and I think it was his arrogance as well as football skill that did this. I would have loved Henry at Utd, but dont think he would have had the same impact as Cantona and maybe Henry wouldnt have been developed by Fergie, to be the player he became.
So for me Cantona was made for Utd and Utd was certainly made for him.

 

[Ali Dia]

Henry

Cantona was a talismanic figure for us who I’m sure is also fondly remembered outside of Utd but Henry was stone cold world class.

 

[neverdie]

Henry was the better player but Cantona was the most important player either club has had in the PL era (Keane comes a close second).

 

[sullydnl]

Henry and it's not that close.

 

[RashyForPM]

King Eric is a United legend, Henry is a legend of football. Cantona’s impact here was sensational, but so was Henry’s at Arsenal, where he racked up far more goals and assists than Cantona. No debate here, unfortunately.

Eric vs Bergkamp would be a fairer comparison, as would Henry vs Rooney. I must say, I think our boys win both.

 

[FatTails]

Bad comparison. In the words of Zlatan, “Lions, they don't compare themselves with humans.”

Henry was the better player but Cantona was more than his playing attributes. Cantona dragged the whole team to another level. Not many can do that.

 

[macheda14]

Cantona was and still is an icon, the majority of fans my age site him as the chief reason they first started supporting the club. The absolute aura of the man. He had more swagger than anybody at the time or since, no debate.
He was the final piece in the jigsaw to win the title and he kickstarted a whole new era of dominance.

Henry a better player technically? Yes. But I know who had the bigger impact on their club and this league as a result... theres only one King.

I mean Henry did have a huge huuuuge impact on Arsenal and the league as well. Arsenal fans would argue he was as iconic for them as Cantona was for us.

 

[balaks]

Henry by quite a distance.

 

[duffer]

So many of you giving Cantona the old "shit sandwich" method of giving a negative answer.

"Cantona was my favourite. Henry was the better player but Cantona had more impact on his side".

He sees through your bullshit!