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Why Thiery Henry is the greatest player of the premier league era

An ODE  to Thiery Henry the GREAT,

What constitutes greatness? Can you look at the statistics
alone and use them to anoint a player as being great? Or is
it the memories a footballer leaves you with - the indelible
mark of grace, skill and purpose that no-one else can
match?
If you look at Thierry Henry's statistics and achievements,
he was undoubtedly a great. If you analyse his numerous
moments of magic there can be no debate.
Indeed, there is a compelling argument that no-one has
enriched the Premier League to quite the same extent – in
terms of smoothness, va-va-voom and goals - since the
competition began in its current guise in 1992.
Elegant but uttery ruthless, Henry dominated English footbal
with the talent to deliver the fatal blow with such elan that
opponents wanted to applaud him afterwards.
"We were blessed in this country to see Thierry playing at
his peak," said Jamie Carragher, one of the players who
suffered most at Henry's hands, upon hearing the news that
he has hung up his boots at the age of 37.
"[He was] potentially one of the greatest players in the
world and, even if you supported another team, you couldn't
help but enjoy watching him play."
The statistical list is so comprehensive that is is hard to
know where to start.
One way to begin would be by pointing out that Henry left
Arsenal having scored 175 Premier League goals (out of a
total of 228 for the club) at an average of one every 122
minutes – a better goal-per-minute ratio than any other
player to score over a century.
Or you could state that he scored against 34 of the 35
teams whom he faced (and that he only played 24 minutes
against Swansea City, the sole exception, during his return
to Arsenal in the 2011-12 season).
Then there is the fact he is the only player to score 20 or
more goals in five successive Premier League seasons, while
he also has the most assists in a season (20 in 2002-03).
Throw in the fact that he played more minutes than any
other member of the Invincibles side and finished his Arsenal
career with two league and three FA Cup medals and you
can certainly make a case that he is up there with
Bergkamp, Shearer, Owen, Drogba, Van Nistelrooy, Cole,
Aguero or anyone else whom you might want to portray as
the finest of the last 22 years.
But the thing that puts Henry apart were the moments. He
fashioned a finish – the curled shot around the goalkeeper
from the left-hand side of the penalty area – that was
individual to him. It was fitting that the goal against Leeds
on his comeback for Arsenal was finished in that exact way.
A man who could have been defined by his physical
attributes, his greatest talent was his brain-power and how
he thought about the game. Many rely on instincts in a one-
on-one situation but not Henry.
"Whenever a goalkeeper rushes out to meet me, I look at
them to make them stop," he told FourFourTwo . "Once I've
frozen them, they suddenly realise, 'Oh, it's just you and
me' and, by the time he thinks this, the ball is gone."
That he gave lessons to Arsenal's young goalkeepers on thi
very trick during one of his returns to the club shows just
how difficult it is to combat.
His speed of thought, as well as fleetness of foot, was
startling. The pace to sprint past hapless Leeds defenders
(and it was Leeds more often than not) was part of his
armoury, though it was his ability to always think one step
ahead of them that was his defining weapon.
Think his wondrous flick-turn-volley against Manchester
United, the backheel against Charlton or even the failed
penalty attempt against Manchester City; this was stealth
rather than strength.
He knew how to keep the fans onside, too, and was well
aware of his marketing potential off the pitch. Never losing
against Tottenham helped, as did the iconic celebration that
is now immortalised in bronze outside the Emirates Stadium.
Most fans empathised with the father-son bond that he
shared with Arsene Wenger. Seeing him transform from an
unconfident left-winger into the world's finest striker was
quite something for the Highbury crowd.
If there were criticisms they would be that he sometimes
failed in major finals – the 2006 Champions League final still
sticks in the craw of many Arsenal fans – and that his
presence seemed to intimidate some of his team-mates but,
as a player, there are not many who can claim to be his
equal.
Dennis Bergkamp, who complimented Henry so well, would
certainly demand a place in the argument. He can lay claim
to being more influential on Arsenal as a whole, having been
the catalyst for everything that followed. Eric Cantona,
another mercurial Frenchman who led his club into a new,
golden era, would also be considered a contender, while
Gianfranco Zola might receive many neutrals' vote.
But Henry's record will stand the test of time.
Alan Shearer, Andrew Cole and Wayne Rooney have all
scored more Premier League goals than the Frenchman but
have done so in 183, 156 and 128 more games, respectively.
Henry filled his trophy cabinet at Barcelona to complete a
set that also included a World Cup, European Championship
and 51 goals for his national team but he will be
remembered for his time at Arsenal. We should be glad we
saw him play.