Why we need a new Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry is Arsenal’s greatest goalscorer in history with over 200 goals to his name in nearly 400 matches. Now we need another out and out attacker like him now to finish of our hunt for a first Premiership in 20 years.
Almost two years ago in the summer of 2022, after Mikel Arteta had just guided The Gunners to fifth in the league after two tricky eight spot finishes in the Premier League, he looked to increase the attacking forces of his fresh side in the making. As a result he brought Manchester City’s second striker to the Emirates for a bargain fee of £45 million who scored nearly 60 goals for Manchester City in five years.
However, could the man who had only scored eight Premier League goals in his final year at the Etihad during the 2021/22 season turn round a slightly lacking Arsenal attack single handily?
Regardless Arteta stood by his decision and was according to BBC Sport “very excited” with the move and felt at the time “the club has done a tremendous job to recruit a player of this stature.”
Since Jesus has been in North London for the past two seasons the man who many hoped and had been promised to score 20 goals a season and be our goal saviour has grabbed 15 Premier League goals altogether. Despite being injured a couple of times during his current stint at the Emirates, he did play 26 games in his first campaign and then 27 in his most recent, being enough to properly show how much he can lead Arsenal’s frontline and be relied upon for his striking power.
After only a season at Highbury, Henry had found the back of the net 26 times, which is almost double what Jesus has collected. Although since the turn of the of the 21st Century the game has certainly tightened up a lot since the days of Henry.
Will Jesus come close to the “King of Highbury” goal tally after only one campaign at Arsenal?
Only next season will we find out whether the man who came to meet his goal scoring expectations can serve and deliver.
Liam Harding
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Jesus could be Henry 2.0 if he plays the left-sided AM role, where he can fully maximize his technical abilities and doesn’t need to play with his back to goal against huge CBs
He’s small and slow, but he’s better in tight spaces and more press-resistant than Smith-Rowe, Havertz and Rice, so he’d likely thrive in Xhaka’s position
He gives the ball away far too much to play in or around midfield, and he’ll often complain to the ref rather than chase the ball back down if it’s still in play. He’s a good player but his attributes overwhelmingly suggest he’s a forward, maybe a 10 with two very defensively willing and minded individuals behind him in midfield.
He’s a good footballer and I like him as a squad player, but for his wages, consistent low numbers and injuries, it’s understandable why he’d be considered sellable.
He didn’t lose the ball too often when he dropped deep into the midfield area
@Gai he was tried in Matinelli’s position a few times in City but got little result. Gota, you seem to have too much expectations of Jesus. The truth is GJesus has been in Epl for a while now he has never been prolific. He is Laccazet kind of CF. There comes a time a coach would want more from there CF. And that was why Laccazet was sold and Jesus was also sold to us there coaches wanted more from them
I am above 50 years and have followed Arsenal for over 20 years, Jesus doesn’t have what it takes to be like HThierry the gap is too wide.
He’s injury-prone, so he might be sold this summer
How can GJesus thrive in Xhaka’s position if he can’t tackle properly to win possession of the ball, or break down the opponent’s team play?
I think us Arsenal that’s included Mikel Arteta the Gunners boss. Will be pretending to ourselves if we think that GJesus will in next season becomes a Thierry Henry for Arsenal.
Henry who had averaged a goal in every 2 games he had played for the Gunners. Which happened during his 400 march time outings for Arsenal.
But as for GJesus who had scored an average of 12 goals in 60 games in five years for Man City. SHOULDN’T be rely upon to deliver goals for Arsenal next season in 20+ goals scored. No disrespect.
For, the Star in the sky that will show a person will be of goodness fortune for himself and others. People won’t struggle to sight it..as ir will illuminate clearly to be sighted.
It may be something akin to blasphemy but have we ever considered that football has evolved since those fever pitch days and Henry in his hey might also struggle to score consistently in this team/league also
I think you have a point, however I don’t think you’re considering the fact Henry was a highly driven and highly intelligent player – he’d have adapted. Maybe he’d have scored slightly fewer, or maybe slightly more, but he’d have found a way to be successful.
There’s no comparison with Jesus, in any case. Henry’s finishing was just far better – he’d definitely have outscored jesus by a long way had he played in this era.
Gabriel j is too limited in the cf role, martinelli is too limited in the lw role. Its better arteta switches them. Positioning arent Gabriel j and henry’ best traits, reason why they mostly run from wing to central positions . It wasnt so obvious because henry was a highly intelligent player and the game was less tactical than what it is now.
Nobody ever expected jesus to come even close to henry average goal per season. But his 1st season he did score 11 in 26 games a respectable 0.42 goal per game(henry was 0.6). This last season his output plummeted
I think Gabriel Jesus will be more suited as a left attacking midfield,he is fast,can drible and a very creative player.His hold up play too will help in Arsenal’s transition play,Arteta should please try him in a new role and see his output
Use the versitle two footed attacks player as a super sub, to cover any of the four attacking positions. End of, job done.
Wirtz is the cross between Bergkamp and Henry. Arsenal should offer at least £100 million for him. They may accept.
Love to see Arsenal up grade it’s technical level, by buying WIRTZ and Olise. What a team Arsenal would be to watch.
He just needs a clean bill of health, he has not been the same since the World Cup. He does not need to be Thierry Henry just the player he was in his first few months at Arsenal. He was not prolific then but changed the way our attack operated and was a great example to our young forwards.
Correct… injuries like he had take a long time to recover from
Plus the added pressure of challenging for the title means he maybe is rushed back too soon or us trying too hard
Also bear in mind Pep.didnt have him as his No 1 . Maybe there was a reason !
Great player though
Agree with both Neil and Nabilo.
My understanding of what happened to him at City was that when he joined he was fantastic, to the extent that City were considering selling Aguero.
Then Jesus broke his foot and was out for some time. When he returned, Aguero was doing so well that nobody was going to displace him as a starter, so Jesus was left looking for cameo roles on the wings. He was dissatisfied with that and looked for a move.
Early on at Arsenal was, as you both say, excellent. He changed things in a really positive way. Not just playing, but his impact as a personality in the squad.
Personally, I hope Arsenal will give him time because he can contribute so much more than goals, he’s that Eden Hazard type that can unlock packed defences.
I get the feeling he has a bit of a confidence problem. Arteta helped Havertz by telling him that he had time to find his feet – and he did. Hope the same happens with Jesus.
No one will come close to being another Thierry Henry because hes one of a kind
Forget being like Henry, Jesus cannot even keep a starting position.
Sell and bring in another player. We have outgrown him in the same way as City.
Wishful thinking in a perfect world, isn’t it? Jesus can twist and turn IF fit but he finds it difficult to score from inside the penalty zone let alone when shooting from acute angles alla Henry.