Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin has claimed that Thierry Henry was the catalyst behind the link between France and the Gunners.
The former French World Cup winner joined the north London side in 1999, and went on to become the club’s top ever goalscorer, with 228 goals in 366 games, well ahead of Ian Wright in second place, who scored 185 goals during his tenure at Arsenal.
Now, with Henry turning 38 today, the Arsenal legend has been spoken about by one of the club’s current top French talents, who claims that the former Gunner was the reason Arsenal are so popular in his native France.
“When I was nine or 10, at Christmas I got the Arsenal shirt with my name on the back,” Coquelin told Arsenal Player. “It was because there were a lot of French players there and Thierry was one of them.
“Even the people back in France who didn’t watch the Premier League back in the day – it is quite famous now – supported Arsenal because of the French core they had and Thierry was one of, if not the best player. So he made French people follow the club.
“When I first saw him, it was like the feeling when I first came to Arsenal and saw all the big players here, it was something special. But I soon realised he is really straightforward and he’ll talk to you and give you advice.
“It is nice to see that a star like him can be straightforward and you can talk to him and he’ll give you advice like that. I text him now, and have a laugh when I see him – if you had told me that 15 years ago I would have said, ‘Yeah alright!’”
Henry won numerous titles during his footballing career – with no less than two Premier League triumphs, including being a key member of the Invincibles side, three FA Cup’s, two Community Shield’s during his time at Arsenal, as well as the La Liga in back to back seasons, the UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup with Barcelona.
Perhaps Thierry’s biggest triumph was the period of two years with his nation France, who won the FIFA World Cup and European Football Championship in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
A career full of great ability and triumph – Thierry Henry is a legend of the game.
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