5) Henry vs Toronto FC
2012
If people had doubted the general game of Henry, this
performance in 2012 put that to rest.
His side 3-1 up after assisting all three through total unselfishness,
he decided to get in on the act.
Superbly sent away by Kenny Cooper, who happened to be the recipient of
two Henry assists himself now returning the favour. Henry had the freedom of the left hand side
but saw the keeper a few yards off his line and went for the spectacular. 20 plus yards out, he curled the ball over
the stranded keeper and into the far corner with ease. The performance in this game showing Henry
was not just a goal-scorer but a team player, as well as producing moments of
genius and class.
Some were saying Henry may have been past his best towards
the end of his Arsenal career, but at the age of 28, he still had many years to
go. Maybe he’d lost that extra yard of
pace, however that was not evident with this brilliant solo goal, not his first
solo number against Liverpool either.
From the centre circle he knocked the ball at least 20 yards to the left
channel and left him in a race with Jamie Carragher. Carragher with a 5 yard headstart was put to
the floor by Henry who showed great pace to beat him there. He carried into the penalty area, skinned
Daniel Agger and fired into the bottom corner past Jerzy Dudek. People may forget just how quick Henry was or
maybe still is but this shows it.
Jose Mourinho famously said that Henry was not a big game
player, ironically this was shortly before his Chelsea side played Arsenal,
where Henry scored twice. If there was
ever a definition of a big game, they don’t come bigger than playing Real
Madrid. Arsenal were looked at as
overwhelming underdogs and left with no chance of beating the Galacticos. Yet, when Henry decided to turn on the
after-burners there were few defenders in world football who could stop
him. In the centre circle, he shoved off
‘The Ronaldo’, brushed Fernando Gago aside and walked past Guti’s lunge. With Segio Ramos spirting to cover, Henry
slid the ball in the opposite corner of Iker Casillas and score arguably one of
the greatest goals in Arsenal’s history.
The competition, the stage, the team all considered, it is a goal that
shows the determination, strength and composure of Thierry which in the end won
Arsenal the tie.
2) Henry vs Manchester
United
Thierry Henry was clearly confident in his own ability,
however the amount of confidence and ability to attempt this effort was quite
sensational. In a game which was built
up as a meeting of the title favourites, it normally means moments of quality or
a mistake decides the game, in this case quality decided it. The ball was rolled into him by Giles
Grimandi and Henry was with his back to goal level with the ‘D’ of the penalty
box. Dennis Irwin thought he had him
under control, then a deft flick of his right foot popped the ball past Irwin
for a second. Henry had the space to
unleash a shot all in one fluid movement.
The audacious volley looped over the helpless Fabien Barthez. Manchester United looked shell-shocked, but
it was in no doubt that Henry intended to do exactly what he produced. Technically, one of the best goals of the
Premier League era, certainly in Henry’s era.
1) Henry vs Spurs 2002
Everyone knows the rivalry between Arsenal and Spurs. Over the last few years, the gap between the
two have been closer and closer and the games competitive and edgy. However, back in the days of Thierry Henry,
Dennis Bergkhamp and co. Spurs did well
to get a point from the Gunners. The
class difference of the two was shown by this quite unbelievable solo stunner from
Thierry Henry. This goal shows the pace,
skill, strength, confidence, passion and most of all, clinical nature that the
Frenchman oozes. Outside his team’s
penalty box, he took down a Patrick Vieira header and left Matty Etherington
for dead. Etherington tried to track him
back and Henry held him off and held him off until he gave up. Henry was left running at the heart of Spurs’
defence at their peril. Stephen Carr
showed him on his left foot, thinking he couldn’t muster the effort after the
lung-bursting run. Yet, Henry side
stepped him and curled it into the corner past Kasey Keller. You’d think he was out of breath, but he had
just enough to roar back down the touchline all the way to the Spurs fans
behind his own goal. The passion of
Henry emphasised by the celebration, the man will forever remain one of the
greatest players to play in the Premier League and the best striker to play for
Arsenal.
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