Angelo Henriquez flopped at Manchester United and Wigan... but he is gunning for Arsenal after finding form at Dinamo Zagreb

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Angelo Henriquez was a nearly-man in English football. He signed for Manchester United but failed to play a first-team game. He played three FA Cup ties at Wigan Athletic in 2013 but was an unused substitute in the famous final against Manchester City at Wembley.

Now 21, he is blossoming in the Croatian League and could be the man to deliver the fatal Champions League blow to Arsenal when Dinamo Zagreb arrive at the Emirates looking to complete an unlikely double over Arsene Wenger's men.

'He reminded me of a slightly taller version of Philippe Coutinho,' recalled Emmerson Boyce, Wigan's captain at the time of Henriquez's loan.

Angelo Henriquez (right) trains alongside his Dinamo Zagreb team-mates at the Emirates on Monday night

Henriquez celebrates scoring for Manchester United in a friendly against AIK in Stockholm in August 2013

Bayern Munich's David Alaba (right) chases down Henriquez during a Champions League clash in September

'He was technically very good, was able to drift and find pockets of space. He was just learning the game when he played with us and was getting used to the tempo of the Premier League. But you could tell he had something, it doesn't surprise me to see him in the Champions League.

'He wasn't as strong as Coutinho is now, but he may have filled out and become more powerful since then. It often can happen with young players.

'The Latin American boys helped him out. He would spend time with Antolin Alcaraz, Roger Espinoza, Maynor Figueroa. He was quiet and his English wasn't great but you'd get him involved in the banter with sign language and things like that.'

Henriquez was just 18 when he left his native Chile for Old Trafford towards the end of the 2012 summer transfer window. He was Sir Alex Ferguson's penultimate signing and his former club Universidad de Chile would have collected £4million if he'd hit all the targets at United.

There was considerable excitement about his arrival. He'd first trained with United at the age of 15 and United kept tabs on him after that, finally taking the plunge when interest from Manchester City was reported.

But he didn't turn out to be one of Fergie's more memorable signings. Clever and skilful, he lacked the physical attributes to play a single first-team game for United.

Henriquez tries to get away from Sevilla forward Vitolo (left) during a friendly at Old Trafford in August 2013

Henriquez chases after the ball during a Europa League clash with Astra in September last year

Former Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce says Henriquez reminded him of a taller Philippe Coutinho (right)

Wigan's Spanish manager Roberto Martinez signed him on loan in 2012-13. It looked like a match made in heaven but didn't really turn out that way.

Only two of his eight appearances were starts and his only goal came in a 3-2 home defeat by Sunderland.

'The fact he came from Man United showed he had quality,' added Boyce. 'Wigan were lucky to get him on loan but couldn't quite get the best out of him. He was still developing and he was coming into a team fighting relegation.

'He could play out wide or at No 10 but made more of an impact in the FA Cup.'

Indeed, Henriquez was involved in Wigan's third-round win at Bournemouth and fourth-round victory at Macclesfield that set them on the way to the first major trophy in their history.

Henriquez battles for the ball with Bournemouth's Simon Francis during an FA Cup appearance for Wigan

Emmerson Boyce (left) lifts the FA Cup with Gary Caldwell after victory against Manchester City in May 2013

Henriquez battles with Argentina's Lucas Biglia during an appearance for Chile at the Copa America

He was a late substitute for Callum McManaman in the semi-final success against Millwall. At Wembley, he was among Martinez's seven substitutes but didn't get on.

Back at United, he became part of Louis van Gaal's clearout and found the Croatian League more to his liking. He scored 24 goals on loan for Zagreb last season and has seven in nine in the league this season.

On his only previous appearance at the Emirates, Henriquez was part of a Wigan side beaten 4-1 that confirmed their relegation to the Championship.

This time, he could eliminate Arsenal from the Champions League, with Zagreb already boasting a 2-1 win in their first encounter, in Croatia two months ago.