Thierry Henry is often named as the best player of the Premier League era, and for very good reason.The Arsenal legend - who finished first, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, in FourFourTwo’s 2021 list of the 100 greatest Premier League players ever - was virtually unplayable during his peak years.Henry scored 226 goals in 370 matches for the Gunners during an eight-year spell that began in 1999.The Frenchman helped Arsenal seal two Premier League titles during that time, winning the league’s Golden Boot award four times and Player of the Season twice.Henry was also named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004 and was included in the PFA Team of the Year on six occasions.
The World Cup winner will forever be remembered as one of Arsenal’s greatest ever players by many supporters - if not *the* greatest. Not only was he unstoppable in the Premier League, but he also produced a series of spellbinding performances in the Champions League.Fans will always remember his Man of the Match displays away at AS Roma and Inter Milan, while his winner away at Real Madrid in February 2006 was one of the standout moments of his entire career.Henry inspired Arsenal to a memorable 1-0 victory at the Bernabeu thanks to a stunning solo goal early in the second half.Against a star-studded team featuring Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Sergio Ramos, Henry beat several opponents before sliding the ball past Iker Casillas into the bottom corner of the net.
However, another less-spoken about moment of magic from Henry that night happened in stoppage-time.Five minutes of stoppage-time were added, which must have felt like an eternity for Arsene Wenger, his players and the club’s fans.Three of those five additional minutes had been played when Henry picked up the ball inside his own half before displaying a masterclass in how to retain possession and wind down the clock.The lightning-quick forward kicked the ball around Ramos on the right flank before sprinting towards the corner flag, chased by Roberto Carlos and Alvaro Mejia.
He then nonchalantly skipped over a slide-tackle from Mejia while looking completely unfazed before holding off the defender and winning a throw-in.The look on Henry’s face said it all. The world-class striker knew he was the man in that moment.Watch the footage here…
Superb.
That brilliant passage of play helped to wrap up Arsenal’s 1-0 victory.
A 0-0 draw in the return leg saw Arsenal progress to the quarter-finals, where they then defeated Juventus over two legs.
A 1-0 aggregate win over Villarreal in the semi-finals led to a first-ever European Cup final appearance for the Gunners.
However, Henry was unable to inspire Arsenal to victory over his future club Barcelona in the 2005-06 Champions League final in Paris.
Despite that, Arsenal fans are still left with unforgettable memories from that Champions League campaign - thanks largely to Henry.