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| Thierry Henry play for Arsenal via ibtimes.co.uk |
Both are obviously great players in their respective generations. Cantona with the collar raised and Zlatan with egotism that measuring as big as the Old Trafford stadium.
But if the king had their own territory, the king in London clearly is Thierry Henry. Chelsea can be proud with Didier Drogba; Tottenham may chest with Les Ferdinand and Teddy Sheringham.
But only one (two if you count Dennis "The God" Bergkamp calculated) player in the era of the early 2000s that could make Arsenal play smart and realize what the real meaning of football for the British public that thirst for entertainment.
Came as exiles player from Juventus, the player's with the bald oval head like potato was transformed into Arsenal's top scorer all-time passing the record of Ian Wright.
Henry is the prototype of the modern striker who now looked at the figure of Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez and David Villa at the peak of his career. When considering the brilliant transformation of the left winger then becomes a center forward, Henry may be similar to the charm of Cristiano Ronaldo today.
In the early 2000s, not many world class striker who was present in the UK apart from Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, who coincidentally both uniformed Arsenal. I underline that sentence first, a world-class.
It means that they were not only playing well at club level but also have a good record when playing at international level. Indeed, many great strikers in the Premier League at the time. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at Manchester United, Gianfranco Zola at Chelsea, or Michael Owen who just newly bloomed in Liverpool.
But Henry was special because he is a combination of the running strength and style ball dribbling. High-level creativity at the level of techniques and imaginative pass, to phenomenally placing the shot, and the ability to duel against each other.
Did you remember how many times the goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, the goalkeeper of Manchester United once his compatriots in the French team that has often become the playthings of the phenomenal goal of Henry? Or two streak ankle breaker of Henry on Dietmar Hamann and Jamie Carragher who drove him scored four goals against Liverpool?
It has not been coupled with a fantastic solo run goal that defeated Real Madrid (especially Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas) and at the end sent Arsenal into the final of the European Champions League in 2005/2006 before defeated by Barcelona in the final.
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I like Bergkamp; he is the embodiment of football is not just a matter of physical endurance and leg strength, but also imagination and fantasy. But Henry, simply put, is a combination of all of these things in one package.
If We want to use a simple analysis of why Arsenal are still without a title after the unbeaten season in 2003/2004 ago, Arsene Wenger's failure to rediscover the figure of attackers of the caliber of Henry is a missing piece from his observations.
Henry was the first in the history of Arsenal striker who can score 30 goals in 38 league games. He also holds the record in the league for assists record, 20 times in one season that almost impassable by Mesut Ozil last season.
The combination of scoring ability and willingness to pour tens of assist make a Thierry Henry statue is very decent to stands at the Emirates Stadium to ordain him as a king at Arsenal, as well as London, perhaps.
After Henry era, almost no world class striker of the caliber of Henry playing for Arsenal. Emmanuel Adebayor became a prisoner and mockery for the Gooners. Nicklas Bendtner was predicted to be a future attacker, precisely was competing to become like Mario Balotelli.
Marouane Chamakh's career was faded and alienated in Crystal Palace. Eduardo da Silva did not find any more sharpness after a broken leg. And the only sharp striker generated by Arsenal after Henry era just asked to move and become a champion in Manchester.
That's why the magic feet of Thierry Henry is the pieces of a puzzle that should have sought desperately by Wenger to rediscover the passion for playing football with an attractive and appealing style of Arsenal.
Often we watch Arsenal were dominant but failed to score. In addition to the ancient system, Arsenal is also less of the attacker that could penetrate the barricades opponent and score with ease. No explosive cannon as great as Henry, a sad fact, considering Arsenal filled with rows of class midfielders such as Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, until Alexis Sanchez.
Criticism on Olivier Giroud and an inability of Arsenal forward line to maximize the chances are things will not happen in the time of Henry. If Giroud was able to score one goal in five chance of a clean, Henry maybe could have scored two or three goals with the same number of chance. Spot the difference.
You need a sharp attacker to be a champion, especially in long-format competition league. Barcelona ruled Spain since scoring is a routine every week.
Most of the league championship team will put the main attacker in the top ranks of the league's top scorer list. Last season, Paris Saint-Germain have Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Juventus entrenched Paulo Dybala, and Leicester City has a figure of Jamie Vardy.
Compare with Giroud and Sanchez who only scored 16 and 13 goals in the league. So naturally it was normal why Arsenal finish in second place last season? A lack of firepower will cost you the title, as I was told before, football is a quantity sport, who have scored more goals than his opponent, he wins, simple as that.
A series of facts that was making me miss the oval head like a potato of Thierry Henry and his magic feet running on the grass of Emirates while scoring in a way that makes us giggle because Henry was so easy to do that.
One sweet memory recorded in the mind when Henry was returned to Arsenal on loan for two months from New York Red Bull in January 2012.
In his debut match against Leeds United in the FA Cup, Henry entered in the second half, received a through ball from Alex Song, and with two touches, his typical placing shot sped smoothly into the goal of Leeds.
He was running around like a little kid, embrace Wenger on the touchline and then wept with emotion at the front row of Arsenal fans. I remember well the words match commentator for Henry's goal at the time, "He may be cast in bronze, but he's still capable of producing truly golden moments."
To close this article, like a human being, King Henry did not escape from sin. I give two keywords into great sins of Thierry Henry: Hand and the Republic of Ireland.
The sin that makes Henry will never be labeled 'alien' by the public of world football, because it was clear and evident he is a man, not a dwarf god who was defeating Peter Shilton with his left hand and then call it a masterpiece.
The return of Henry to Arsenal (vs. Leeds United - 2012):
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