Thierry Henry

:joy: Sorry there Paxo

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Brilliant player though, The Lawman.

Still holds the record for most Manchester United goals scored in one season with 44.

So good that Bergkamp was named after him (with 2 nā€™s :man_facepalming:)

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Put that into context Ted Drake is the Arsenal record in the 30s in a less tactical era.

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I wonder they had a Gnabry-esque fit each time he scored for us.

They exacted a semblance of revenge in 2002.

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The problem with Italy in that time period is the Serie A was the best league in the world so they didnā€™t have time or patience to nurture young talents. Plus youā€™d argue itā€™s long held Italian culture to put trust in older and more experienced players rather than the youth.

And it was apparently obvious Henry wasnā€™t a good fit for the ultra tactical and defensive nature of the league. He flourished at Arsenal because he was nurtured by Wenger who guided him and gave him a freer role which heā€™d never have been afforded in Italy.

Moving to Arsenal was the best thing he ever did. Had he stayed at Juventus it would have ruined him.

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Iā€™m sure they did. :hipster:

Seriously though, I donā€™t think many people in the world (inlcuding Henry himself) thought he had it in himself to become one of the most productive goalscorers of an era.

But there was one guyā€¦ :wenger:

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Trezeguet wasnā€™t much younger or less established than Henry at the time ;). I think Juventus at that time simply didnā€™t play with a proper winger. That came after they sold Zidane and bought Nedved. It was a bad fit.

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The reason Henry was given the number 14 shirt and the team, system and player Wenger was a fan of and molded his teams around.

Also the most influential person in football history. You wouldnā€™t have had Messi, Guardiola, Xavi or Iniesta without him.

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Really?
It wasnā€™t just because 14 was the lowest (non defensive) number available at that moment?

Seriously, first time Iā€™m seeing someone suggesting something like that.

Nah bro, Ronaldinho in 2005-06 has 17 goals and 14 assists (31 goal contributions in 29 league games). Won La Liga, the CL and was instrumental in both of those successes.

As much as I love Henry, 2006 was robbed from Ronaldinho and not from Henry. Youā€™re gonna award the player who won more and had an equally amazing season over the player who won nothing.

Ronnie was on another planet between 04-06. He single handedly led the Barcelona revival again.

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Yes he had a video call with Fabregas and told him about it. He wanted the 12 because Van Basten wore it but Christopher Wreh had it. So Wenger suggested number 14 and told him Cruijff was one of the best player of all time, better than Van Basten and was the first to wear none 1-11 numbers

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Regarding Italy being too competitve and not giving too much time to young players I can agree on that.

But Iā€™m not sure Henryā€™s problem was Italy being too defensive and tactical.
He just played too far away from the goal.

When I see how much success pacy, skilled strikers who could dribble and move around, hadā€¦ Guys like Weah, BokÅ”ić, Ronaldo, Shevchenko etcā€¦ Iā€™m pretty sure Henry would have killed it in a similar fashion like he did in Arsenal, but as I said, Wenger was probably the only person in the world at that time who saw a striker in Henry.

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Yea he would of done, Juveā€™s management simply didnā€™t know what a player they had. If Messi played at Juve in the 90s heā€™d be an offensive fullback who was poor defensively

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But I think thatā€™s the problem. Tactically the only way he was fitting into the Juventus system at the time was away from goal. He wasnā€™t displacing Inzaghi for example.

He never would have been trusted to play closer to the goal because he was positioned as a left winger at the time rather than the CF he became under Wenger.

I donā€™t think Henry becomes the player he became unless he moves to Arsenal.

Ronaldinho was their best player but Barcaā€™s revival was far than just him.

They bought a lot of top quality players in a short timeā€¦ Etoā€™o, Giuly, Deco, Marquezā€¦ Massive signings. Etoā€™o in the first place, Deco was absolutely brilliant for a couple of years too, but declined quickly after 2006, just like Ronaldinho.

Although I reckon if he scores that chance to put us up 2-0 in the final he wins it.

Reality is Henry was insanely stiff not to win one between 03-06.

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Talking about Ronaldinho, I have to say something in his favour nowā€¦

I was quite a big Ronaldinho fan before he moved to Barca, or more precisely, before the summer of 2004 when they had that big transfer window (of course after Ronaldinhoā€™s big move a year ago), splashing enormous money, for that time, on Etoā€™o, Deco, Giuly, Larsson, Edmilsonā€¦ Suddenly everyone jumped on their bandwagon, new Barca fans just jumping out of every corner, and they just became a BIT too annoying for me.

But before that I remember thinking Ronaldinho was the best player on the 2002 WC and how overlooked he was there. Also remember expecting PSG matches the following season and the massive dissapointment when I would find out he wasnā€™t in the squad for a game. :bellcry:

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Do you remember he looked for all the world he was going to sign for Man United in 2003 :neutral_face:

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Of course. The whole 2002/03 season his future transfer was probably the biggest talking point regarding the whole French league.

The other day I also watched a Laporta interview, how he talked about when he came to Barca he wanted to transform them and how crucial it was to sing one elite player, how he had three top candidates in his head: Ronaldinho, Henry and Beckhamā€¦

Imagine they signed Beckham in stead of Ronaldinho :mustafi:

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