Football’s Greatest Goals No.14
It seems fitting that number 14 in this series should be from Thierry Henry.
The Frenchman wore this squad number during his first spell at Arsenal, where he became the club’s record goalscorer.
Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and was originally a winger; but manager Arsene Wenger saw something in him that made him think he could play as a striker. It was to prove a masterstroke as Henry scored 228 goals for The Gunners, surpassing Ian Wright’s earlier record of 185.
This week’s ‘Greatest Goal’ comes from the match between Arsenal and Manchester United on Sunday 1st October 2000. It was the only goal of the game but is still talked about to this day. It is fair to say that it is one of the greatest goals scored in matches between the two clubs.
Half an hour had been played when Arsenal defender Gilles Grimandi got possession of the ball just over ten yards inside the Manchester United half.
Grimandi had enough time to take a touch before passing the ball forward along the Highbury pitch to Thierry Henry.
Henry had his back to the United goal and United defender Dennis Irwin was marking him. The two tussled as Grimandi’s pass rolled towards them and the Arsenal forward wriggled free from Irwin’s clutches.
He gained a yard of space from Irwin and immediately flicked Grimandi’s pass up off the ground and across his body. In an instant, Henry swivelled round and hit the ball hard at goal from 25 yards out.
Henry’s French international team-mate Fabien Barthez was Manchester United’s goalkeeper that day. He was a spectator for the goal though, as he didn’t even dive for the ball. It had gone past him and dropped under his crossbar into the back of the net before he fully realised what had happened.
The reaction around Highbury was first of shock and then adulation. There seemed to be a second or two from when the ball hit the back of the net until the fans fully acknowledged that Henry had scored.
It was a truly fantastic goal and one that truly deserves its place on this list as one of ‘Football’s Greatest Goals’.
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