Horay Henry.
I saw a post on the internet recently which asked the hypothetical question, if you had to remove one of the following players and all their achievements from history which would it be:
Ronaldinho, The ‘original’ Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, David Beckham and Louis Figo. All incredible players! [sic]
What struck me was just how many people were wanting to write off Henry without a moment’s hesitation. Roughly the same amount of time it would take him to pass you and deposit the ball in the net. He was lightning. At times it felt like he was playing with a cheat code.
The year was 1999, Arsenal had just lost out on retaining the league by one point to Manchester Utd. Nicholas Anelka, a fan favourite had just sulked his way out of the door guided by his brother and agent Claude to the tune of a club record £23.5 million.
However, the money was to be put to good use. First, in the development of a much-needed state of the art training centre at London Colney. The remaining £11 million was used in funding the transfer that would mesmerise English football for the next eight years, leaving a legacy behind that few can compare.
When Henry first signed, he had been playing predominantly on the wing. A promising career that started at Monaco, had stalled a little playing for Juventus, despite his recent World Cup success. It’s fair to say he wasn’t exactly setting the world alight.
It’s well documented that in conversations with Arsene Wenger, who consistently told Henry he saw him playing up front, the player was less than enthused. He didn’t believe he could do it.
He didn’t exactly hit the ground running and it took him until his eighth game in an Arsenal shirt to show just what he was capable of. The skill was there, but so were glaring misses, as he fluctuated between starting the game and coming off the bench while others around him aimed to prove their own credentials.
Arsenal were away to Southampton; the score was locked at 0-0 going into the last twenty minutes, and so, Wenger introduced his big summer signing once more. Eight minutes later, he received a pass from Tony Adams just outside the box, cut inside to give himself space, and lashed it to the right of Southampton’s flailing keeper. The rest as they say is history.
He went on to become Arsenal’s top scorer with 228 goals, beating a record set by Ian Wright not that long ago. Of those, 175 goals were scored in the Premier League and it’s hard to find one which couldn’t be considered for goal of the month. He didn’t score tap ins. In fact, the closest thing to a tap in I can recall is a back heeled nutmeg in the six-yard area against a bemused looking Charlton team.
In the process of all this, he was crowned Premier League winner twice. Famously, going unbeaten an entire season to be forever referred as one of the ‘Invincibles’ and managed to pick up an FA Cup winners medal three times.
He won a plethora of individual accolades including ‘Footballer of the Year’ three times, ‘Players Player of the Year’ a joint record two times and was included in the Premier League team of the season for six consecutive years. On a global stage he managed to finish runner up to for the Ballon D’or in 2003 and was again in the mix in 2004. Moreover, he added the Euros in 2000 to the World Cup he’d already secured in 1998.
Henry was also that most rare of players who is able to combine being a prolific goal scorer with the ability to assist others at will. He won the Golden Boot three times in succession and finished his Arsenal career having won it a record four times. Additionally, his assist stats are almost as impressive. It wasn’t until 2019/20 that his record of twenty assists in a single Premier League season was finally equaled.
In 2007, the writing was finally on the wall for Henry’s Arsenal career as he was sold for £16 million to Barcelona where he went on to win the Champions League that had so far eluded him along with two more Spanish League titles and a host of other European trophies.
Just a few short years later, in 2010, he decided to try his luck in the MLS where he played until he finally decided to call it a day (other than a brief stint on loan back at his beloved Gunners). By the time he hung up his boots for the last time he had amassed 123 caps for France and become one of the most decorated players in history.
A true living legend.