Thierry Henry: I will always love Arsenal and we can win the title
Gunners legend still has dreams of managing the club where he is record goalscorer, once he has done his coaching badges
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THIERRY HENRY has opened his heart on leaving Arsenal.
His job with the Under-18s may be gone, but his love for them has not.
The Gunners legend, 38, still has dreams of managing the club where he is record goalscorer with 228, once he has done his coaching badges.
Meanwhile, he reckons they have a massive chance of winning the Premier League this season while new managers find their feet elsewhere.
Even with Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp around, he reckons Arsene Wenger can win his first title in 13 years.
Henry said: “My heart will always be Arsenal, so I want Arsenal to win. That is my heart talking.
“The only guy that has been there for a very long time now is Arsene. He can take advantage of having the same team.
“That can be an advantage on the others. The others are going to have to gel but that team is already there.”
Henry now has a greater appreciation of Wenger’s work after starting to take his coaching badges.
Keeping everyone happy and looking after his own team is a thankless task.
It is one that Henry still has ambitions of fulfilling. But it means he understands the tough decisions his old boss needs to make, including his ultimatum to his old player to pick being on TV or coaching.
Sky pundit Henry said: “Nothing will change with my love for Arsenal.
“First and foremost, I wasn’t an employee. I was allowed to go and pass my badges there. This decision was taken months ago, but I guess it came out now because the new season started and I wasn’t there.
“I worked for the Under-18s last year and I completed the season even though I knew I wouldn’t be staying on the following year.
“As you know, I have a current job. In my spare time, for free, I wanted to impart my knowledge and experiences in the game to the youngsters, while completing my coaching hours and also gaining knowledge to pass my pro licence.
“That is how it is, it was a dilemma that wasn’t really a dilemma. I have to work. I respect the decision and if I can’t complete my hours there, then I will do it somewhere else. It isn’t an issue.”
Thierry Henry on bosses
THIS Premier League will be about the dugout as much as the pitch.
Henry said: “It is weird as I don’t ever recall, in any league, fans or press being more excited about the managers than the players.
“Everyone is waiting for Pep Guardiola to face Mourinho, what Klopp can do, what Conte brings after seeing how good he was at the Euros.
“But don’t forget Arsene is still there.
“Ancelotti and Diego Simeone apart, you have the best managers in the world here.”
But that does not mean Henry’s coaching dreams have ended.
He added: “It really opened my eyes to a lot of stuff. I understand Arsene a bit more now, along with all the coaches that I had while I was playing.
“It is not easy, especially with everyone now speaking on social media and judging you and thinking they know. It is very difficult and very complicated.
“At the highest level, you have to deal with the press, with the egos, with tactics, with everyone, with sponsors, with the economy of the club.
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“I have massive respect for those guys as before I used to arrive, train and leave. I couldn’t care less about what was happening because my job was to perform.
“People don’t care about the manager. When you finish a game, as a fan, the first thing you think about is what the manager did and whether he got it right. Or why he got it wrong.
“You never ask if the boss is OK or if he has problems himself.
“That guy has to front for everyone all the time, but nobody says ‘I wonder if he has a problem at home?’ or that they feel for him.
“Being on the other side, I see it. I would like to manage, but I am far from it.
“First and foremost, make sure you have everything, all the badges. Then we will see.”
[youtube //www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4VO4kX2WKY&w=620&h=349]
As for Arsenal, he reckons Wenger could look at playing Alexis Sanchez up front alongside Olivier Giroud.
And Henry rates Aaron Ramsey as one of the best players of the Euros this summer. The midfielder showed exactly what he can do for Arsenal.
Henry said: “You can see that Giroud becomes a better player when he has people around him.
“Look how he played for France with Antoine Griezmann.
“He is very good when he can flick and hold up play — his link-up play is second to none. But he needs players around him making runs behind him.
“When I see Sanchez play for Chile, he is up front, free. Not on the left, not on the right. That might be something. If Alexis can be used in and around Giroud, instead of being wide, both of them will benefit from that.”
Thierry Henry on England
SAM ALLARDYCE or the next England boss must use the spirit of Wales to put their stamp on the Three Lions, according to Thierry Henry.
He also feels Arsene Wenger would not be suited to international football as he needs day-to-day work with players.
Henry says whoever gets the “impossible job” must come with an identity and philosophy that everyone buys into.
He said: “If you compare the Welsh team to England’s, without any disrespect, it shouldn’t be a fight.
“But you could see a togetherness that you couldn’t see in England.”
On Wenger, Henry said: “I think he wants to be on the field every day. As a national coach you are not on the field every day.”
Henry was impressed with Wales, and Ramsey in particular.
He said: “You are always going to talk about Gareth Bale as he was outstanding, but for me Aaron Ramsey was as good, if not a bit better.
“He showed Arsene what he can do in midfield.
“Now we have Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, it is difficult when you want to be in the middle for Arsenal. But what was good for Aaron was that he showed everyone.
“Reading between the lines of what he says, he would prefer to be in the middle, but he will do a job on the right or wherever the boss asks him to play.
“That is great of him, but as a No 10 who runs beyond and everywhere, I just thought that he should have got more credit. He was as good as the other guys I saw in that tournament.
“Maybe he didn’t score the six goals that Griezmann scored but assists, goals, energy, defending, going forward — hopefully that can be good for Arsenal if he can come home and play the same way.”
Thierry Henry is celebrating a summer of sport with Booking.com. Follow your passion this summer and explore the unique possibilities of travel at .