Former AS Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev stands by his decision to hire Thierry Henry last season.

The Arsenal lasted barely three months as ASM coach before being sacked. Vasilyev would soon follow him out the exit door.

But he told L'Equipe: "It was a risky idea and we knew it. If he had succeeded, it would have been an incredible thing and a wonderful story.

"Thierry has everything he needs to become a top coach. It was not a mistake to take him, it was a choice I assumed and which had been validated by the president.

"We had analysed everything, pros and cons. He was a child of the club, a football legend: it was thought he could energize the group."