Former Super Eagles striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni has stirred up conversation by choosing Thierry Henry as his all-time favorite Premier League goalscorer instead of Alan Shearer. He also mentioned that Shearer was not as strong in one-on-one situations against goalkeepers.
Speaking on the Head2Head Clubhouse podcast, Yakubu acknowledged that Shearer’s goalscoring numbers and records are impressive. But he argued that Henry had better individual skill, technique, speed, and overall quality.
"One-on-one he’s poor. Scoring goals, he’s unbelievable, don’t get it twisted, you know, he’s a proper number nine, but my all-time Premier League striker is Thierry Henry, he’s special," Yakubu said.
These remarks have attracted attention, especially since Yakubu himself has faced criticism for missing clear chances in key moments. One notable moment was his open-net miss for Nigeria against South Korea during the Super Eagles’ last Group B match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Durban.
At that time, Nigeria was down 2-1 and needed to win to move on to the next round. Yakubu shot wide from close range with the goalkeeper out of position. Alan Shearer, who was a pundit for the BBC then, called it the worst miss he had ever seen.
Yakubu did later score a penalty to equalize, but the match ended in a 2-2 draw. This result meant Nigeria was knocked out at the group stage.
Despite the ongoing criticism since that match, Yakubu, who netted 21 goals in 58 games for the Super Eagles, has always defended his overall international career. He believes that the missed chance should not overshadow what he contributed to Nigerian football.
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