Arsenal legend Thierry Henry lavishes praise on Luis Suarez amid Samuel Eto'o comparisons

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has claimed Luis Suarez is getting Barcelona's attack back to its best through his goals but also by giving Lionel Messi and Neymar more freedom to thrive.

The France international shared the attack with both Messi and former Chelsea star Samuel Eto'o as part of arguably the best Barcelona team of all time in the 2008-2009 campaign, winning the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey under Pep Guardiola.

And Henry believes Suarez is now replicating Eto'o not in his goals but in getting the best out of his teammates, as rivals are kept occupied trying to mark him.

"In my Barca team we had that with me and Samuel Eto'o," Henry said to Sky Sports.

"They knew we would always ask for the ball in behind, and therefore Leo [Messi] could encounter space in that false nine role. They've gone back into that. Why? Because they have one guy we've been talking about all night, and that's Suarez.

"Him being in that position will allow everybody to play better. They went to Leo on the right and Neymar on the left, but they have that No. 9 they didn't have for a long time."

Henry believes that the former Liverpool player is the striker the Catalan side have been missing in recent years after both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa failed to make the impact expected.

Suarez had a difficult start to the life at Camp Nou but has netted 11 goals in his last 11 appearances, including a goal in the La Liga victory over Real Madrid and both braces against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Speaking about his goals during the Catalans' 3-1 victory over the Ligue 1 side in the quarter final first leg on Wednesday night (15 April), he added: "For me, he is a No. 9 I like to see. He goes into the channel, he will hold the ball at times.

"For the first goal he went into the channel, held it, pure strength. The second one, he drops, plays a one-two and goes behind.

"He's always available. He's always looking to go behind and they now have a proper No. 9."