In his brief spell with the Black Stars which saw him cap 17 times and score just two goals, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie was famed for his blistering pace and considerable level of trickery, dribbles, and showboating.

From the Arsenal academy where Abeyie’s talent was honed, his pace was often mentioned by coaches and scouts as the biggest in his skillset.

Blessed with this outstanding speed, Owusu-Abeyie, according to former Arsenal player Mark Howard once attempted a race with the legendary Arsenal player Thierry Henry.

On the Cycling GK podcast hosted by former English goalkeeper, Ben Foster, Mark Howard recounted how Owusu Abeyie, Gael Clichy, and other speedsters in the Arsenal team took on Henry in a race.

Per his narrative, halfway into the race, Thierry Henry who had opened a huge gap between himself and the rest stopped to tell the youngsters not to take him because he is out of their league.

“He is the nicest guy in the world and will look after everyone like they were his kids. We had some fast lads in training. The likes of Gael Clichy, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, and the likes were very rapid. Thierry was obviously the fastest by a mile and one day they decided to have a race. By the halfway line, Thierry ran back and breezed it off, mate.

“You’ve never seen some pace like that in your life. He just blew them apart. He was a joke and he was the nicest guy you’d meet,” he said.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie played for Arsenal between 2003 and 2006, having come from the Gunners’ highly respected Hale End academy.

From Arsenal, he moved to Spartak Moscow where he lasted four years before joining Celta Vigo in 2010.



KPE