Bruno Fernandes broke David Beckham's Premier League assists record for Manchester United as they beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday
Thierry Henry has spoken glowingly about Bruno Fernandes and highlighted the Manchester United star's 'football brain' and mentality in an in-depth analysis of his man-of-the-match performance against Aston Villa. The Arsenal legend also described Fernandes as 'cocky' and praised him while drawing attention to a heated exchange between the Portuguese star and teammate Amad.
The 31-year-old has now provided more assists than any other United player in a single Premier League campaign after contributing two in the commanding 3-1 victory on Sunday. His 16 assists this season have seen him eclipse the previous record set by David Beckham in 1999/00.
The Portuguese has been amongst the few positive elements at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013. The former Sporting star has repeatedly demanded excellence from his colleagues on the pitch and was spotted urging more from Amad during the final stages of Sunday's triumph.
Yet rather than condemn Fernandes, Henry showered praise on him as the incident perfectly illustrated him as a leader.
The Sky Sports pundit said: "He wanted the ball from Amad, and I want to show that because people always used to kill him when they lose the game. That's 3-1, still two minutes to go. He killed Amad."
When asked if Fernandes' criticism could be seen as a flaw, Henry responded: "No, that's him. He will argue with his dad or with anyone.
"He argues with himself, he finds a way. What I'm trying to say to you is, even when he wins, he is like that. He demands excellence from himself and from his teammates. That's a real leader for me."
Footage then displayed Fernandes responding confidently on the pitch after his stylish assist for Matheus Cunha, to which Henry commented: "Yeah, be cocky, but when he wins, it's kind of okay. My name for him now is Braino Fernandes. This guy thinks. I love it – I've always liked him.
"What this guy has been doing in some difficult moments for Man Utd has been outstanding."
Fernandes has frequently received accolades for his footballing intellect, and Henry dedicated several minutes to praising the United captain as he evaluated his top moments from Sunday's match.
Henry highlighted his brain as his most significant asset during the segment and even quipped that he refers to him as 'Braino' Fernandes. He said: "Speed without control is useless, but if you can control the speed of your brain, then you're going to be faster than anyone on the field and this is what this guy (Fernandes) has in abundance.
"I mentioned it when I was here before, he doesn't play football, he thinks it, and he did that so well at the weekend.
"When [Kobbie] Mainoo controls the ball right now, normally you can make a run, but once again, 'am I going to beat [Tyrone] Mings by pace here, with my speed?' No, he's not, but I can beat him with my brain.
"Now the ball's going to come, he goes against the run of play. Mings thought he was going to go, because he scanned before, he's going to control the ball, and he can turn on the ball. He has time to be on his right foot to be able to deliver that ball for Diogo Dalot.
"That's just a little appetiser. Then in the second half, he decided to go. 'You know what? Like the kid that is the best in school, let me go and get the ball wherever I am and try to pass the ball forward.' He's going to go into the path of Luke Shaw. 'Give me the ball. I wanna play forward. Amad, come and play with me. It's OK. I go and play as a nine now.'"
Henry then proceeded to examine Fernandes' contribution to the opening goal from Casemiro, which originated from a corner.
He added: "You need to understand that to take an outswinger and still manage to make it look like an inswinger. The way he put his body to make sure that the ball was going to have enough airtime for Casemiro to attack it – don't underestimate how difficult that is. Beckham used to do that, we all know."
Fernandes has been United's standout player throughout the season but has stepped up his game even further since Michael Carrick took the reins. His form has coincided with a fantastic streak under Carrick, which has catapulted United into third place and put them in pole position for a Champions League berth next season.
Carrick's team, now six points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, are also just seven points behind second-placed Manchester City, who stumbled to a 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened West Ham on Saturday.
The Red Devils travel to Bournemouth next on Friday (8pm GMT) in their last match before the international break. They then don't return until a home fixture against Leeds on April 13.