Thierry Henry, Arsenal’s legend believes that Timo Werner’s inability to feel loved contributed to his poor form while he was at Chelsea.
Werner who joined Chelsea in 2020 transferred to Leipzig this year after a ‘not so good time at Chelsea. He scored 23 goals in 89 appearances while he was at Stamford Bridge, but he was always criticized for wasting chances.
However, it seems Werner has discovered a newfound confidence in RB Leipzig, as he already has scored 13 goals for the Bundesliga side.
Thierry Henry, speaking on Werner’s new form, said that he will attribute his success at Leipzig to confidence, as there are players who have this inbuilt confidence and do not care whether you show them Love or not, while there are players who cannot well until they feel loved at where they are.
He further said that Timo couldn’t gather enough confidence at Chelsea, and that was why he was always missing chances. Looking at his current form we can see that Werner has become very calculative when he is with the ball. His inability to feel loved at Chelsea contributed to the reason why he struggled at Stamford Bridge.
“I will call it confidence. You have players who don’t care if you put your arm around them. They will come, execute and leave,” Henry told CBS Sports.
“Then you have some players that need to feel the love. They need to feel maybe that they are going to play for 90 minutes. The best example is the second goal.
“First and foremost on the first control, Timo Werner would never have put that ball down at Chelsea, and then he would never have seen [Emil] Forsberg.
“He would have rushed it trying to do something, overthinking it and overdoing it. I saw it before, he was calm before and he is calm again.
“Maybe he would have shot [when he brought the ball down] because people said he can’t score at Chelsea – it gives you confidence when you score again. Then I see him pass it with his left foot at the right time.
“Sometimes you go to some places, they don’t show you that love, I’m not saying he didn’t have it, but if he didn’t feel it like he felt it at Leipzig, then you aren’t going to be at your best and you won’t take the right decision,” Henry stated.
Werner’s story can be likened to Alex Iwobi’s experience as both players are now thriving after struggling to maximize their potential. Every footballer needs to find their confidence, as this will help them maximize opportunities.