Thierry Henry ended his career as Arsenal’s all-time top scorer and as arguably the greatest player in the history of English football, but his success did not come instantly.
The France attacker joined Arsenal in 1999, after the departures of Nicolas Anelka and Ian Wright, and he had massive shoes to fill.
Henry arrived as a winger who had struggled to hit his best form at Juventus despite winning the World Cup, but Arsene Wenger had worked with him at Monaco, and spotted the potential for him to succeed as a centre-forward.
Doubts were raised over Henry after his arrival alongside Real Madrid striker Davor Suker, as he failed to score or assist in his first seven Premier League games.
However, Henry eventually found his feet and eventually netted 26 goals in his first season, and one goal helped kick off what would become a legendary spell in North London.
Thierry Henry explains relief behind his first Arsenal goal
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Henry explained that his first Arsenal goal, which came in a 1-0 win at Southampton in September 1999, was a huge relief to ease the pressure on him.
“[It helped] A lot, because people were waiting for that,” Henry explained.
“Nicolas [Anelka] left. I’m French, we played together, so people were saying ‘is he the new Anelka?’
“Wrighty just left as well, so people were wondering who I was, and what I was going to do, and it’s always great to start with that.
“Winning at The Dell wasn’t easy at the time. People will remember that it was not an easy place to go and win, and we won 1-0, and that’s where it all started. It was just a massive relief.”
Thierry Henry had extra pressure to replace Ian Wright and Nicolas Anelka at Arsenal
With the pressure placed on new signings to deliver, many now point to Henry as an example of why some players need time to adapt when joining a new team.
Henry played in a mixture of positions on the wings or upfront, with the likes of Suker, Nwankwo Kanu and Dennis Bergkamp often occupying central roles, but after adapting his game, he eventually became the deadliest centre-forward in the club’s history.
There was huge pressure on Henry given his reputation as a World Cup winner, and the fact that he was replacing a legend in Wright and a world-class talent in Anelka, but he persevered to eclipse both forwards at Highbury, and his first goal at Southampton was the one which kicked it all off.
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