Thierry Henry sadly hung up his boots from the beautiful game on Tuesday, ending a 20 year career spent with clubs varying from Arsenal to the La Liga giants Barcelona.

The Premier League provides its usual dose of drama, excitement and, of course, great goals every season, but which were Henry's best?

Here is my top 5. Feel costless to give us yours in the comments section below.

1) Thierry Henry's Match Winner on his return to Arsenal

The goal that knocked Leeds out of the FA cup will surely bring a smile to the Arsenal faithful. Thierry Henry had come on as a substitute for Chamakh and showed glimpses of his younger self, getting into a attacking position on the periphery, when he glided silently away from Zac Thompson, collected Alex Song's pass and skimmed his shot beyond Andy Lonergan and into the far corner. A hero had returned home but, in witnessing the delirious chest-thumping celebrations that followed, it felt as if the Frenchman had never been away.

2) Thierry Henry's Screamer - Manchester United

Half an hour had elapsed when the Frenchman produced his moment of brilliance - and it came from nothing.

Gilles Grimandi was in possession about 40 yards out and under no real pressure. He played the ball into Henry's feet but the striker was 20 yards out and had his back to goal plus Denis Irwin in close attention,

No matter. While holding off his marker, Henry flicked the ball up, span and volleyed a dipping shot over goalkeeper Fabien Barthez in one fluid movement. The ball flew into the top corner and Highbury erupted. A sublime goal.

3) Thierry Henry's Debut Goal - Southampton

In 3rd place is Thierry Henry's debut goal for Arsenal coming on to claim another 3 points for Arsenal. Adams passed forward to him on the edge of the area, and with his back to goal he turned and hit a superb curler from 20 yards which flashed into the far top corner. A fantastic goal which showed the quality forward that Wenger has brought to the club, in which where Henry would provide his services for the 300+ games he appeared in for the club.

4) Thierry Henry's Solo Goal - Tottenham

Not only was this goal one of the finest ever seen at the old Arsenal Stadium, it was also that much sweeter for coming against the Gunners' fierce local rivals Tottenham. Henry had scored only once in his previous seven games and the usually confident striker was, for once, lacking his usual clinical ability. It only took 13 minutes on the pitch for the Frenchman's prodigious talent to reappear, however. Picking up the ball up inside Arsenal's own half in a sweeping counter-attack, he sprinted the length of the pitch leaving several Spurs players in his wake, to finish neatly past goalkeeper Kasey Keller. The famous knee-slide celebration in front of the Tottenham fans is now immortalised as a statue outside the Emirates Stadium.

5) Thierry Henry's Hatrick against Wigan to give Highbury a wonderful send off and to clinch Champions League Qualification


Not his best goals by any means but the significance of his hat=trick against Wigan give it 5th place. 3 composed goals concluded an eventful day at Highbury, their stadium since 1913. The match against Wigan nearly went dramatically wrong, however, as the traveling Lactics went 2-1 up, but Henry scored his ninth hat-trick for the club to salvage a wonderful send-off to the 93-year-old ground. The day was complete when news filtered through that Spurs had lost to West Ham, which meant the Gunners pipped their north London rivals to the final Champions League spot.

That concludes my top 5 goals from Arsenal fan favourite Thierry Henry, with each being a pleasure to re-look again to witness the magic and flair Henry possessed. Sadly however, Arsenal and more importantly the Premier League may never have someone as talented to grace the football pitch, which only highlights the importance of his performances for Arsenal, and that he will forever remain a footballing hero.

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About the author
Salmaan Abbas
Love All Things Football. Writer @VAVEL.