Wenger: Henry one of the greats

Arsene Wenger believes Thierry Henry is the equal of Pele and Diego Maradona.

Henry inspired The Gunners to the final of the UEFA Champions League last season as well as helping France to the final of the World Cup, and Wenger believes it is time he received more recognition.

Asked if he should be ranked in the same class as Pele and Maradona, Wenger replied: "Yes, I believe Thierry is on the same level as those two, definitely."

Henry is in the running for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award again this year and Wenger feels it would be a travesty if he were overlooked in favour of Italy's Fabio Cannavaro, who is favourite to scoop the prize for European Footballer of the Year.

"I don't understand why he hasn't won European Player of the Year. Maybe it's because the people voting don't analyse what a player has achieved over a long period," said Wenger.

"They see Cannavaro won the World Cup this year and that's enough for their vote.

"I'm pleased for Cannavaro because he did play well last season, but I don't think he compares with the quality of Thierry - or what he has produced consistently over the last five or six years.

"It's not fair or just that Thierry hasn't yet won it but let's hope he will get the recognition he deserves one day.

"It could happen when everybody least expects it, like after he helps us win the UEFA Champions League this season."

Arsenal entertain Hamburg in the Champions League on Tuesday and are in desperate need of a victory after two disappointing results against CSKA Moscow.

Wenger is confident his side can once again progress to the final this season, but knows the two remaining group games will be tricky.

"We can't even say Hamburg is the decider because our next game against Porto is also going to be a decider," he explained.

"Getting out of the group is the difficult bit for us. If we do this, we will have a big part to play in this year's Champions League.

"No English clubs, other than Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, have reached consecutive European Cup finals - but that doesn't bother us.

"We've done lots of things no other English clubs have, so why shouldn't we achieve this too?"