Anyone who knows Arsenal knows Thierry Henry.
The Frenchman is the club’s greatest talent, and his club record of 228 goals remains unbeaten to this day.
Henry was a threat wherever he played, and opposing clubs’ defenses feared his deadly combination of speed and dazzling proficiency.
Let’s find out how this soccer star came to be and why Thierry Henry is deservedly called Arsenal’s best player. And for that, we need to look at his career in more detail.
Playing style
The owner of high-quality, speedy dribbling. Felt most comfortable in the role of the only striker. Was capable of launching a productive offense from any position in the attack. Despite his big scoring ways, he was a team player, capable of giving away assists.
Because of these qualities, he could be a great player at a safe mobile casino. He was a master of the offside game which consisted of going behind defenders and unexpectedly and quickly coming back. A specialist in the free-kicks and penalties. He played well with both feet, but his head was not his strong suit.
A few months before the birth of the future star of soccer, his father Antoine, a native of Guadeloupe, and his mother Marise of Martinique moved into a new two-room apartment in the Parisian suburb of Les Julies. Thierry Henry was born on August 17, 1977, and is of Antillean descent.
Childhood and first steps
Thierry Henry grew up in the same street as Patrice Evra, although he met him much later. His parents divorced in 1985, and three years later his older brother Willy joined the army. Little Thierry was left with his mother, he suffered a lot from loneliness. His mother brought him up strictly, not allowing him to take liberties and rarely letting him go out with friends.
The young Frenchman looked sadly out the window at his peers laughing in the street. Many years later the footballer already remembered it with great gratitude to his mother, because almost all of his childhood friends were already in prison.
Until the age of 12, he was engaged in the soccer school of his native city, then trained at Paleso school, where his partner was Jonathan Zebina (the future Roma and Juventus defender) and Vitry Chatillon.
As a child, he was delicate, fell from any collision, sweated a lot when playing, and was often sick. He recovered his health in Guadeloupe, at his grandmother’s, where he was sent on vacations. Other children did not like to play, because the main Thierry technique was to take the ball and rush at high speed towards the goal, beating opponents and not noticing partners. But it was all justified by dozens of goals scored.
Father’s influence
Henry’s love for soccer was instilled by his father, who took care of his son after his divorce, took him to practice, and was his second coach. Once, when Thierry was 14, his team beat the opponent 6-0, and Henry was the author of all the goals. He walked happily to his father’s car, receiving congratulations from his peers, but after getting into the car, he did not hear a word from his father.
The young soccer player could not understand what his father was so unhappy about. And after a long silence, Antoine began to reprimand his son about his mistakes: he did not manage to run here, did not manage to score here. Thierry began to feel as if his team had been defeated. This is the source of his future self-criticism and his desire to be the best in everything.
At the age of 13, the native of Les Julis got into the famous Clairefontaine academy, where the boys lived from Monday to Friday. And even there his father managed to sneak in and watch his son’s training sessions.
At the time, the Frenchman considered speed his strongest soccer skill. He was coached by Brazilian Joaquin Francisco Filian (by the way, Henry was always in touch with him in the future) who told him not to use it in games – not to run at speed. Thanks to these classes Thierry rediscovered soccer, learned to think on the field, and developed other game skills so as not to be a one-sided footballer – it helped him tremendously in his future career.
He went through a lot of soccer academies until he was spotted by Monaco scouts and signed by the club in 1995. Thierry Henry played as a striker, but at Monaco, he was moved to the left wing. It was 1997 when Monegasque became the French champion, and the 17-year-old newcomer’s game has significantly grown.
Halfway through the 1998/99 season, Henry was almost sold to Real Madrid, instead the talented forward signed a contract with Juventus for £9 million. Seven months later the deal with him is made again, but for 10.5 million pounds. At Arsene Wenger’s initiative, he moves to Arsenal in London, where in the future he will become a legend of this club.
Thierry Henry’s career at Arsenal
What you can learn by visiting https://kiwidads.com/ is that Arsene Wenger, the head coach of the “gunners”, moved Thierry Henry to the forward position, where he was given more space and responsibility in the attack.
The Frenchman soon discovered his true ability – Henry glided between defenders at high speed and scored an incredible number of beautiful goals, which were scored both from short range on technique and from long distances on strength.
During eight seasons at Arsenal, the French forward scored 174 goals, thereby setting a record in the history of the Canaries. Between 2002 and 2004 the team won two league titles and won two FA Cup trophies. In mid-2004 Thierry Henry won the golden boot of the 2003/04 season, becoming the top scorer in Europe with 30 goals, and Arsenal became the English Premier League champion.
Т. Henry was also awarded the title of ” Europe’s Best Player ” in 2002 and 2003, and in the international FIFA ranking he took second place in 2003 and 2004.
In 2006 Arsenal of London reached the Champions League final. Even though the gunners lost the match to Barcelona 2-1, it was their best achievement in the history of European Cups.
In his last season at Arsenal, Henry was plagued by injuries. Everyone was waiting for Thierry to heal and return to form, but in the summer of 2007, he unexpectedly moved to Barcelona. In Catalonia, the Frenchman collected a bunch of trophies (seven in three years), but in terms of his influence on the game surrendered.
Still, Henry’s authority played its part. The Frenchman impressed even a young Leo Messi. Here is what the Argentine said many years later: “The first day when Henry came into the dressing room, I was afraid to look into his eyes. I knew about everything he was doing in England. Thierry was already a very experienced player that everyone knew about, and suddenly we were on the same team. I admired Henry, I liked him. I was amazed by the ease with which he realized his chances. You look at his game and it all seems to happen naturally, without too much effort.”
In the summer of 2010, Henry’s history at Barcelona came to an end. The forward, who was almost 33 at the time, went to conquer MLS with the New York Red Bulls. In the U.S., Thierry was easier and even his age was not an obstacle. The result: in four years he played one and a half times as many games as he did for Barça.
In January 2012 Henry joined London’s Arsenal on a two-month loan during the off-season in the MLS. Here he took part in four official meetings and scored a superb goal against Leeds United. The world media dubbed it “The Return of the King” – after five years he returned to his home stadium and proved to everyone that heroes do not die.
Conclusion
Throughout his career, Henry has always worked hard to raise his level and become the man he has become in soccer.
The significance and recognition of the merits of Thierry Henry to the club were in the form of a monument. Only three of them are at the Emirates Stadium: the famous coach Herbert Chapman, “Mr. Arsenal” Tony Adams, and “The King” Thierry Henry.
