Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has claimed that some "big players" shrank in the tunnel when they came up against former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry.

Henry is widely regarded as one of the Premier League's greatest ever players, having scored 176 goals and created 77 more in 258 top-flight appearances for the Gunners.

Ferdinand came up against the Frenchman on numerous occasions, particularly in clashes between Manchester United and Arsenal, and he admits that the World Cup winner possessed a rare ability to intimidate players before the game had even begun.

"Thierry Henry, what's it like playing against him? It was hard, you knew you had to be coming on point, there wasn't any messing about," Ferdinand told his official Instagram account.

"Thierry Henry I know, I used to watch on TV or I'd look in the tunnel when I was in there and some players I would see him thinking 'woah, it's Thierry Henry'. It was that effect he had on people, there's only a handful of players who I've seen had that effect. He was one of them, I've seen some players shrink in the tunnel.

"When I watch a game on TV and I see the tunnel I'm thinking before the game has even started or before that man's head even hit the pillow last night, Thierry was in his brain, Thierry had finished him off. They're some big players as well, big players."

Henry scored 228 goals and created 90 more in 375 games for Arsenal across all competitions.