THIERRY TEARS 'EM UP
A few years ago it would have been somewhat surprising to consider Henry as one of the planet's most deadly strikers, as he did not enjoy a particularly healthy goalscoring record before coming to Highbury. Indeed, he was often deployed as a left-winger and consequently scored just eight goals in three seasons and almost 60 games for Monaco and Juventus, before he was reunited with Wenger at the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Even then, Henry sometimes struggled to make an impact in attacking areas. During his first six months at Arsenal, the 24-year-old found the back of the net with just 11% of his shots, and he consequently scored just four goals. Moreover, the pacy Frenchman was largely ineffective in linking with his new colleagues and set up just a single goal in half a season.
However, Henry's improvement was rapid, and in the second half of the 1999-2000 campaign, he scored 13 goals and set up seven more to become arguably the Gunners' most effective player. It is a role which the striker has relished ever since.
Henry continued to flourish last term, and he was Arsenal's top scorer in the Premiership with 17 goals, and also set up a club-high total of nine goals for his colleagues. Furthermore, the former Monaco man fired in excess of a half-century of goalbound efforts in the Champions League, which was more than any other player in the competition and furthered his reputation across the continent.
However, the start of the 2001-02 campaign has arguably seen the most effective performances of Henry's career to date. In the league, he has scored with an exceptional 27% of all his shots, which is a better proportion than the Frenchman has managed in any other season in England and has made him the division's joint-top scorer with four goals along with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Moreover, Henry has used his incredible acceleration to increasingly good effect, embarking on more dribbles and runs per game with every passing campaign in England. And in the Gunners' two Champions League ties this season, Henry has already scored another two goals and ought to add many more as Arsenal's continental campaign progresses.
Henry is without a doubt one of the most feared strikers in Europe, and rightly so. His pace alone is enough to trouble even the most experienced defenders and he seems to cause the opposition problems in every game he plays in.
At the age of just 24, Henry has already had an extremely successful career. Added to his great goalscoring record is the fact that Henry has already won the World Cup and European Championships with France, and given his form over the past couple of years, it is only right that he is considered one of the world's top striking talents.
