No matter what gets said from the Red Bulls’ corner offices, Thierry Henry has one, maybe two years left. Sooner rather than later, the man’s legs just won’t have the requisite pop, and he’ll move on.
Perhaps to Arsenal? We know Henry loves him some Arsene Wenger and all things Arsenal in general. So there may well be a role for the fabulously talented Frenchman once his playing days are done.
But what about a TV role? Possible?
Certainly seems so if you watch the man on Sky Sports from last week.
Henry is comfortable, and has good things to say. This is no former jock who gets a seat in the studio just because everyone knows his name. He clearly knows his stuff and has strong opinions. (Not surprising, really, as the guy is famous for his studious ways on the game.)
Lean in and listen as the New York Red Bulls man talks on Sky Sports about Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Leo Messi and much, much more.
Here, for instance, is what Henry had to say about Olivier Giroud:
As a striker you need to pass the line of being a killer. He has that in his eyes now. When he first arrived it was like he wanted to see what it was like in England, but now he doesn’t want to miss a game. He wants to be the guy that makes his team win or the guy that sets up a goal. He wants to be the guy and that is what you need if you want to be the guy. You need that attitude.
Interesting, by the way, that the guys from Sky Sports talked about the Premier League learning curve. The specific talking point was Giroud finally finding his PL feet and becoming a scoring force around the Emirates.
Here’s the rub: his strike rate is just a tick under Henry’s for their first 70 or do games.
As of last week (at the time of the interview) Giroud had 27 goals after 69 Premier League matches for the Gunners. Henry had 35 goals after 69 games.
No, it’s not quite the same. But it’s not so far off, either, considering Henry’s universal regard as one of Arsenal’s all-time greats.
