Thierry Henry remains one of if not the best Arsenal players of all time, as he is the club’s record goal scorer netting 377 times.
The Frenchman joined the Gunners in 1999 from Italian side Juventus, and spent the next eight years at the club, seeing the transition between Highbury and the Emirates. He also won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
Henry was part of the legendary Arsenal team that won the league in 2003/04, managing to not lose a game. They were dubbed ‘the invincibles’ under legendary manager Arsene Wenger.
Henry’s early career in France before the Gunners
Born in 1977, Henry played for clubs such as CO Les Ulis, US Palaiseau, Viry-Châtillon and INF Clairefontaine before he finally settled at Monaco in 1992 where he ended his youth career and became a professional.
Henry went on to sign his first senior contract with Monaco in 1994 – after impressing for their B team, he was swiftly promoted to the first team. In total, Henry scored 20 goals in 105 appearances for the French side.
In 1999, he enjoyed a brief spell at Juventus after his time at Monaco, where he made just 16 appearances, scoring three goals.
He was then snapped up by Arsenal in that same year for what turned out to be a bargain price of just £11 million.
How Henry became an Arsenal legend
Henry had previously played as a winger and initially struggled to cope with the Premier League’s level of defenders, before adapting to become a striker – then he really kicked on. At the end of his first season, Henry scored 26 goals in all competitions.
In the 2001/02 season, Henry had become the best striker in the division – his goals in this campaign (32) led the Gunners to his first of two Premier League titles.
Henry’s greatest goal scoring season came during the 2003/04, which, incidentally, was also the year of the famous ‘Invincibles’ campaign. In total, he scored 39 goals in all competitions during the season.
His final season during his first stint with the Gunners saw him riddled with injuries – he scored just 12 goals in 2006/07, before he was signed by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
He would, however, make a triumphant return to Arsenal in the twilight of his career. Henry re-joined the Gunners on a 2 month loan deal from New York Red Bulls in January 2012 and made 7 appearances during this time, scoring 2 goals. It took his total tally for the club up to an incredible 377, which is the best by a margin of 90 goals over Ian Wright.
Henry’s time after leaving Arsenal
Henry left Arsenal (for the first time), in 2007 to join Barcelona. He helped to form one of the greatest club sides in history during the 2008/09 season, alongside the likes of Carlos Puyol, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi.
Henry scored 26 goals during this season as the Catalan giants won the La Liga title, the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League under now Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
In 2010, Henry made the move to the MLS, as he signed for New York Red Bulls. This would be his last club in professional football – he went on to score 52 goals in 135 games for the American outfit, before bringing his playing career to an end in 2014.
