Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had once managed the French team Monaco, where a young Thierry Henry played in the youth team. Wenger encouraged young Henry, who won the ‘French Young Footballer of the Year’ award in 1996.

Not surprisingly, when Wenger took over at Arsenal, he bought Henry from Juventus for £10 million. At first it seemed that Henry could not cope with the physical nature of the English game, he failed to score in his first eight games. However, after toughening up, he finished his first season with an impressive twenty-six goals.

During the 2001/2 season, Henry’s hard work paid off and the team won the double, Henry scoring thirty-two goals in all competitions. Arsenal were now a real force to be reckoned with. In 2002/3 Arsenal won the FA Cup and Henry was named PFA Player of the Year. During the 2003/4 season, Arsenal went the entire campaign without being beaten, the first team in over a century to do so, largely due to excellent performances from Thierry Henry.

In 2006, Henry became Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer and won the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year award.

Arsenal reached the Champions League final in 2006 but were beaten by Barcelona. The following season, Henry was out through injury for long periods.

In June 2007 Henry was transferred to Barcelona for twenty million euros.

Always a prolific striker and a skilled player on and off the ball. Thierry Henry is a legend at Arsenal FC.