Plaudits for inspirational Thierry Henry
Arsenal players lead the tributes as one of the greats of soccer retires
Present-day Arsenal stars led the tributes to club great Thierry Henry on Tuesday after the former France striker announced his retirement from professional football.
Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey wrote on Twitter: "Congratulations on an outstanding career ThierryHenry. Top player. Top guy. Legend."
The club's German playmaker Mesut Ozil in his tweet, said: "Once you enchanted all of us - now I can only say: Thanks for everything! ThierryHenry. ArsenalLegend."
He loved playing, dribbling, running, scoring, and his example suffused countless impressionable young fans with an awareness that the game should be about joy and adventure
English winger Theo Walcott, who inherited Henry's number 14 jersey after the Frenchman left the club in 2007, said: "A true inspiration to me in my career. Thank you ThierryHenry & good luck in your new path."
Henry, 37, became a world and European champion with France and won the Champions League at Barcelona, but it is for his record-breaking exploits with Arsenal that he will be best remembered.
He won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with the club, set a new club scoring record of 228 goals, and was honoured with a statue outside the Emirates Stadium in 2011.
Having finished his career with the New York Red Bulls, Henry is due to return to London in January to work as an analyst and ambassador in a lucrative deal with Sky Sports.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, who will work alongside Henry at Sky, said: "We were blessed in this country to see Thierry playing at his peak.