Thierry Henry made Arsenal’s number 14 shirt legendary during his Gunners career.
The Frenchman inherited it from Martin Keown upon his arrival in 1999 from a short-lived spell at Juventus and, after initially struggling to find the net, went on to score a club record 226 goals during the next eight years.
Henry’s career after that took him to Barcelona, where he eventually won the previous Champions League trophy, and then to America with the New York Red Bulls, but the opportunity to return to the ‘Arsenal came up in 2012 and jumped on it.
Henry had already been training with Arsenal to stay fit during the MLS off-season that winter and, even at 34, was still impressing Arsene Wenger. So he signed a two-month loan deal to return to the Emirates Stadium in January 2012.
“When it comes to arsenal my heart will always speak,” he announced at the time.
Henry openly agreed that he would not be the leading man again. His former number 14 shirt was unavailable, so he settled for the vacant number 12, a shirt he already knew well and had worn throughout his international career with France.
It was actually the shirt he had first wanted 13 years earlier.
Two of the Premier League’s most iconic footballers, talking about the most epic endings they experienced in their careers!
Thierry Henry and @Carra23 came together to celebrate the release of #Poison: The Last Dance, in theaters this week.#ad | @VenomMovie pic.twitter.com/gsVGrISii7
— 90min (@90min_Football) October 21, 2024
“When I arrived at Arsenal (in 1999), I wanted number 12, but Christopher Wreh had number 12,” explains the legend. 90 minutes to celebrate the release of Venom: The Last Dance, looking back at his glorious return.
Number 12 would play a major role in one of modern football’s most cherished moments.
Back at Arsenal, Henry was prepared to sit on the bench, or even be an experienced and inspirational voice in the dressing room if that was the best way to help the team.
But when the Gunners faced Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium FA Cup third round just three days after his return was made official, the stage was very well set.
“That game, the Leeds game, the stage was perfect because it’s 0-0. Go, in my mind I’m like… ‘Imagine if I score the winner’,” Henry recalls thinking.
Incredibly, he did. And it was a vintage Henry finish too, as he took up position on the left side of the box and opened his body to find the bottom corner with his right foot.
“When I came back I was wearing number 12… in 2012. I scored with 12 minutes to go. That was my 12th game against Leeds and my 12th goal against Leeds,” he says, reflecting on the series of amazing 12 coincidences related to him. in play
“I left the stadium at 1:30 in the morning that day. I was still in my shins and shorts. I didn’t want to move.”
Henry scored again for Arsenal before returning to New York, scoring the 91st-minute winner in a Premier League victory over Sunderland in their last game on English soil. His final Arsenal tally, with 228 goals in 377 appearances.
