Henry moves centre stage

By John Sinnott

Chelsea fail in bid for Henry

Back in 1999 Thierry Henry was languishing out on the wing struggling to establish himself in a Juventus side alongside fellow Frenchman Zinedine Zidane.

Four years on Henry has moved from the sidelines to the centre of football's world stage.

The Arsenal striker is in the running for this year's world footballer of the year award on Monday along with Zidane, now of Real Madrid, and another Bernabeu star, Brazil's Ronaldo.

Henry's transfer value has also rocketed, as proved by Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich making a formal offer of £50m for the striker to Arsenal last week.

Perhaps Henry's value to Arsenal was best shown when he gave Italy of glimpse of what Serie A has been missing, almost single-handedly destroying Inter Milan in the Champions League, scoring twice and making two in a 5-1 win last month.

Quite a turnaround for a player who Juventus ditched within months of signing him in January 1999.

Sometimes you say that God has not given you everything, but with Thierry he has been given a lot. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Henry made just 16 appearances in all for Juventus, scoring three times, before the Italian giants sold him to Arsenal for £10.5m in the summer of 1999.

It was current Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger who gave Henry his Monaco debut two weeks after his 17th birthday.

Within two years Henry had become a first-team regular, helping Monaco to win the first division title in 1997 - the year he also won his first senior cap for France.

When Wenger speaks about Henry, it is difficult not to be reminded of a father talking about his son.

Wenger has nurtured Henry's career

"Thierry is amazing. A dream you want as a player," the Arsenal manager told the BBC's Sportsweek programme on Sunday.

"He says 'Give me the ball and I can pass you because I have that acceleration to do that'.

"It must be an amazing feeling to be able to do that. Such power.

"He is intelligent and understands everything. Sometimes you say that God has not given you everything, but with Thierry he has been given a lot.

"It is not only talent, it is motivation and intelligence.

"I would like him to become a real star because that would be an inspiration for the youth as well because there have been people in football who were not an inspiration for kids.

"It is good that (Zinedine) Zidane and Henry have become stars because the lives they lead are good examples."

Likewise, the 26-year-old Henry clearly regards Wenger as something of a second father.

"In every match, I try to repay all the things he's given me," Henry recently told France Football magazine.

"He was the one who launched my pro career at Monaco and he was the one who then re-launched it at Arsenal, holding out a hand to me when I was feeling down."

Henry up for world award

As he had done at Juventus, Henry initially struggled at Arsenal, scoring just twice in four months as Wenger remodelled him as a centre-forward.

But Wenger remained patient and was rewarded as Henry went on to score 26 goals for the season as well as helping France win Euro 2000.

In 2002, Henry finished as the Premiership's leading goalscorer, inspiring Arsenal to win the league and FA Cup Double.

Last season, as Arsenal lost their Premiership crown to Manchester United, Henry bagged 24 goals to finish as the league's second top scorer, behind United's Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But he was also top of the goal-assist list with 23.

His record is even more remarkable given the way Henry roams across the breadth of the pitch.

There are few more thrilling sights in football than Henry picking up the ball on the touchline and, like a speed skater, wending and weaving his way to goal.

From the cold of Serie A to the pinnacle of world football, Henry has made a remarkable journey and Monday could see his peers formally acknowledge his success with Arsenal and France.