Thierry Henry is rightly regarded as one of Arsenal’s best players of all time, and one of the greatest to have ever done it in the Premier League.
Alongside Alan Shearer, Henry was the first Hall of Fame inductee in 2021, being joined by former manager Arsene Wenger two years later.
| Appearances | Goals | PL Winners Medals | FA Cups | Golden Boots | PFA Player of the Year |
| 377 | 228 | Two | Three | Four (PL record) | Two |
The 47-year-old credits his record in North London with his compatriot, Wenger having brought Henry to Arsenal and then given him the belief that he could score goals after converting him from a winger to a striker.
Yet it wasn’t always a positive relationship, with Henry revealing elements of tension during their time together at Arsenal.
Thierry Henry angry with Arsene Wenger’s focus on stats following defeats
Speaking on CBS Sports while working at the Concacaf Nations League in the United States, Henry revealed there could be friction between him and Wenger after Arsenal lost games.
The Arsenal legend took issue with Wenger’s focus on statistics beyond the scoreline, saying: “I used to argue with Arsene Wenger, the big Arsene Wenger.”
Henry continued: “When he used to come in the dressing room after the game that we lost in the Champions League 2-0, he used to come with the stats: Arsenal 57% of the ball, the other team 43%.”
“[Wenger] was like this: “Thierry, look.” And I used to say boss, what does it say at the top? We lost 2-0, don’t bring the stats.”
“It looks even worse because we have more of the ball, but we didn’t create [so] don’t shout it. We didn’t do well.”
Arsenal’s difficult record with Wenger in the Champions League
Interestingly, without naming a specific defeat to a European side, Henry did reference the Champions League while explaining the reasoning behind his arguments with Wenger.
And the Frenchman’s focus on statistics other than the scoreline shed light on his difficult record with Arsenal in Europe’s premier club competition.
While Wenger is Arsenal’s most successful manager, he only managed to lead his side to one Champions League final during his 22 years at the club, the 2006 showpiece against Barcelona.
| Total number of seasons | Group Stage exits | Round of 16 | QFs | SFs | Final |
| 19 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Sadly, that game ended in defeat as Henrik Larsson inspired the Catalan giants to a late 2-1 victory in the Paris rain.
It’s a similar story when other seasons are analysed. Across his time in charge at Arsenal, the Gunners only reached one other semi-final, being comprehensively outplayed by a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Manchester United in 2008/09.
For seven consecutive seasons between 2010/11 and 2016/17, the Gunners were also knocked out at the Round of 16 phase.
Perhaps most painfully, the great Invincibles side of 2003/04 were knocked out against Chelsea 3-2 on aggregate after a late Wayne Bridge strike at Highbury in the second leg.
While Wenger enjoyed some brilliant Champions League wins, his intense focus on how his side performed overlooked the most important facet of the game: the result.
In knockout football, this is even more pronounced, leaving little margin for error.
Mikel Arteta’s side will nonetheless be hoping to emulate a feat Wenger’s side did achieve on that magical run in 2006 when Arsenal entertain Real Madrid in the Quarter Finals of this year’s competition.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
