Arsenal FC legend Thierry Henry has left his role as an Under-18 coach at the club after being told by the Gunners’ boss that he cannot be a pundit on Sky, while being a coach at the North London outfit.
Henry, who is arguably the greatest player in the club’s history is also their top scorer, having netted 228 goals in 376 appearances over two stints at the club. He has won two Premier League and three FA Cup titles with the Gunners during his time at the club.
The Gunners legend has been completing his Pro License coaching badges while acting as assistant manager for the U-18 team at the club. As part of his UEFA A License qualification, the Frenchman has also been spending time with different age-group teams.
Wenger was unhappy with the fact that Henry was criticising his Arsenal players while he was still a coach at the club, according to a report in English newspaper Daily Mail. Henry has been critical of Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud in the past, even going on to claim that the Gunners will never be able to win the Premier League, as long as they have Giroud in their ranks.
However, Henry has now decided to choose football punditry over coaching at Arsenal, as Sky Sports revealed that the 38-year old has left his position as a youth coach at the club.
According to the Daily Mail report, Henry is earning a whopping £4 million a year on his current Sky contract, while coaching for free at the Arsenal academy.
Henry’s role as an assistant manager at the Arsenal U-18 setup will now be taken over by former Gunners captain Tony Adams, while Henry’s former teammate Freddie Ljungberg is set to work with the U-16 side at the academy, reported the BBC.
Where does Henry’s future lie?
The irony about this whole situation is that while Henry has been ousted by the club for his dual roles as an Arsenal coach and as a pundit on television, Arsene Wenger himself has been doing punditry for beIN Sports during the 2016 European Championships in France.
These developments mean that Henry will now have to pursue his Pro License badges at some club other than Arsenal. Interestingly, Henry has been linked with a reunion with his former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, who reportedly wants the Frenchman as his assistant at Manchester City.
I was told on VERY good authority last night that Pep Guardiola wanted to come to Arsenal with Thierry Henry as his No2. #afc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 3, 2016
While Henry was tipped to take over as manager of Arsenal after Wenger’s retirement, it seems that the Gunners legend might now team-up with another of his former bosses. One advantage that Henry will get if he joins Manchester City is that he will have the City Football Group’s vast resources at his disposal to hone his managerial ambitions before taking up the big job.
A prime example of this is ex-Arsenal captain (and Henry’s former Arsenal and France teammate) Patrick Vieira, who is currently the manager at New York City FC. It is believed that Vieira will one day become Guardiola’s successor as the manager of Manchester City.