THIERRY HENRY

THIERRY HENRY AND ARSENAL FC

Unsettled in Italy, he transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal for Ł10.5 million, reuniting with his former mentor, Wenger. At Arsenal, Wenger converted Henry into a striker, where he has flourished ever since. In the seven seasons he has been at Arsenal, Henry has been the club's top goalscorer for every single one. He was made Arsenal captain in the summer of 2005, succeeding the recently departed Patrick Vieira. Regarded by many as the best striker in Arsenal's history, on October 18, 2005 Henry became the club's top goalscorer of all time; two goals against Sparta Prague meant he broke Ian Wright's record of 185 first-class goals. On February 1, 2006, he scored a goal against West Ham, bringing his league goal tally up to 151 and thus breaking Cliff Bastin's Arsenal league goals record. The 2005-2006 season also saw him score his 100th league goal at Highbury, a feat unparallelled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League. He also contributes a large number of assists - most notably 23 in the 2002-03 season - an all-time Premiership record.

Henry has received many plaudits and awards. He was runner-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award while helping Arsenal to an unbeaten record (26 wins, 12 draws) in the Premiership when many thought he was the best player in the world during that period. He has also won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times, the PFA

Players' Player of the Year twice, and the French Player Of The Year on four occasions - an all-time record. In 2004-05, despite Arsenal being the runners-up in the Premiership, Henry emerged with the European Golden Boot - the award for the top goalscorer in Europe - for the second consecutive year (albeit sharing with Villarreal's Diego Forlan in 2005). He is the first player ever to retain the award.

In the UEFA Champions League this season, both Henry and the Gunners are all in perfect condition, Arsenal led the group stages and only conceded 2 goals so far. A superb solo strike from Henry gave the Gunners a 1-0 win on aggregate against Spainish Giant Real Madrid in the first knockout round. An assist to Fabregas and a goal knocked Juventus out of the quarter-finals. They edged Villarreal CF in the semi-final with an 1-0 win on aggregate thanks to Toure's goal at Highbury.

In the semifinal away match against Villarreal April 25, 2006, a man ran out on the pitch and gave Henry a Barcelona kit with HENRY written on the back. Henry and Arsenal will meet Barcelona in a star-studded Champions' League final in Paris on May 17, 2006.

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