Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has taken up a coaching role at the club in order to earn his coaching badges, manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed.
Former striker, Thierry Henry, who has been tipped to, at some point, take over the managera s role at Arsenal, has begun his journey towards it. The Frenchman will be coaching the Premier League cluba s youth players.
Under-15 Arsenal player, Josh Benson, revealed on Twitter yesterday that he and his team-mates had been coached by Henry. Thierry Henry is also working as a sports pundit for Sky Sports since his retirement from professional football at the end of the last MLS season.
Imagine being coached by @ThierryHenry Think if I shave & cut hair short they’ll give me a shot for a session? All I need (All I’d last)
a Josh Benson (@joshbenson1310) February 19, 2015
“Thierry Henry is making his first steps as a coach,” Wenger told reporters.
“It’s good for our youngsters to be coached by him. He’s been here once or twice. All our former players are welcome to come back here and get their coaching badges. We’re happy to have him.”
Last November, Wenger revealed that Henry joining the Arsenal backroom staff was a not impossiblea . And just three months on, the Arsenal boss has confirmed that the 37-year old has begun his journey as a football coach.
Wenger believes that the striker has it in him to succeed in the highly-demanding role of a manager. Wenger also advised Henry on how he can deal with the responsibilities and also described how difficult the job of a manager is.
“Has he the quality to be a manager? Yes… but he has to decide to sacrifice his life,” Wenger said last year.
“When you’re a player, you think it’s so simple to be a manager. When you are a manager, you think it’s so complicated suddenly and if you’re not prepared for that you cannot survive.
“One quality that you need is resistance to criticism when you feel it’s not justified. I dona t know how hea ll handle that.
“He has to learn the job first. I have seen so many who have the qualities and they have not survived their first job because they are not ready.”
Thierry Henry, who moved to Arsenal from Juventus in 1999, went on to score 226 goals for The Gunners, becoming the top-scorer in the cluba s history. The Frenchman then joined Barcelona in 2007 and went on to win the treble with the Spanish giants in 2009. Henry then joined the MLS side, New York Red Bulls in 2010 and then returned to Arsenal on a short but successful loan stint in 2012. He returned to Red Bulls and eventually retired in December 2014.