The moments that made Thierry Henry an Arsenal legend as major BBC honour announced
Thierry Henry will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award by the BBC ahead of this year’s Sports Personality of the Year.
Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are among those nominated for Sports Personality of the Year, with the former Arsenal striker set to receive the award at the ceremony.
Bukayo Saka revealed that Henry spoke to him before Arsenal’s win over West Ham in October, underlining the huge presence the World Cup winner still carries in North London.
Henry has been outspoken on Arsenal’s season, with the club’s record scorer hoping, just as much as the fans, to see Mikel Arteta‘s team finally lift major honours.
Ahead of Thursday’s ceremony, Football Insider looked back on some of the iconic forward’s best moments with the Gunners.
The hat-trick that made Arsenal invincible
Arsenal’s 2003-04 invincible season is iconic in the club’s history but a perilous week almost saw it fall apart, if not for Henry.
Losses to Manchester United and Chelsea had seen the Gunners dumped out of the FA Cup and the Champions League, with a difficult match against Liverpool set to take place at Highbury.
| Thierry Henry | Arsenal |
| Appearances | 377 |
| Goals | 228 |
| Assists | 101 |
After just five minutes, the Reds were ahead through Sami Hyypia, and Arsenal feared the worst.
Henry had passed a late fitness test to be available for the game and levelled the scores, but his team would be behind once again when Michael Owen scored before half-time.
It was a sliding doors moment for Arsenal’s season, but it would be Henry who slammed them open.
Robert Pires would equalise once more after the break, before the Gunners’ number 14 picked the ball up just inside the opposition half.
Dancing past two, three Liverpool players and almost putting Jamie Carragher on his backside, Henry surged into the box and placed past the diving Jerzy Dudek to put Arsenal back in control.
He completed his hat-trick 28 minutes later, and set his team well on course to make history at the end of the season.
‘Thierry Henry, the Gunner Galactico’
The Galacticos were a Real Madrid team formed of some of Europe’s best players, as envisaged by Florentino Perez.
The team Arsenal played against in the first leg of the 2005-06 Champions League last 16 contained the likes of Iker Casillas, David Beckham, Guti, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldo.
In addition, no English team had ever beaten Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, before Henry had his say.
After a first half in which Arsenal should have been ahead, the France international received the ball near the halfway line.
In an instant, Henry drove forward, shrugging off Ronaldo before going in between two more Real Madrid defenders.
Sergio Ramos and Casillas stood between him and the goal, but neither could stop the forward’s low shot into the bottom corner.
As he lifted his finger to his lips and jogged towards the corner to celebrate, commentator Peter Drury would remark: “Thierry Henry, the Gunner Galactico!”
Henry returns as the Emirates explodes
2006 saw Arsenal move to the Emirates Stadium, where Henry failed to recreate his Highbury form.
After a season marred by injuries, the striker made the decision that fans had feared for years, and moved to Barcelona.
After leaving the Spanish giants in 2010, the Frenchman signed for MLS club New York Red Bulls, until an opportunity arose in 2012.
Arsenal wanted him back, and he accepted the loan agreement in an instant. Henry had returned, and he would make his second debut against Leeds United in the FA Cup.
The Gunners struggled to break down the visitors until the 78th minute, when Alex Song spotted, who else, but substitute Henry making a run inside the box.
A perfect pass found the striker, who controlled with one touch, before stroking into the net with the second.
As the Emirates Stadium exploded around him, Henry ran to his manager, Arsene Wenger, with the two sharing a heartfelt hug.
One month later, the Arsenal legend would score his 228th and final goal for the Gunners – a winner, away at Sunderland. Leaving as he joined, his legacy will continue to define North London forevermore.