The blueprint for a successful striker

Thierry Henry - A case study

As an Arsenal fan I have always admired Thierry Henry, placing him on a pedestal beyond that of the other great footballers I grew up watching. Henry is greeted with adulation from fans from a wide array of different clubs and nationalities for the prowess he displayed as a striker for France, Arsenal and Barcelona, this despite a slightly unconventional route to the top. As a goalscorer, he displayed qualities that you yourself can replicate in the hope of emulating one of the all time greats.

Inspirations

Henry idolised Marco van Basten as a youngster, and his efficiency when operating in one v one situations can somewhat be attributed to his attempts, as a developing player, to replicate the precise shooting that van Basten so often displayed. Henry stated in a 2014 article that the best advice he ever received as a player was when Lilian Thuram (France’s most capped players) taught him that if you are to be successful in a one v one against your opponent, you have to make them feel as though you are stronger than them. This elite mentality is what drove Henry to usurp Ian Wright as Arsenal’s top goalscorer, to win a World Cup and three consecutive Premier League Golden Boots (competing against a generational talent in Ruud van Nistelrooy over these years). Practice makes perfect, and diligent practice is another driving force behind Henry’s route to the top. As a young player, Henry bemoaned the fact that he needed 10 chances to convert one into a goal. The dearth of a striker is in his overthinking - Henry stated; ‘The hardest thing for an attacking player? When he has time to think.’. He obsessively practiced his finishing to the point where it became instinctual, to the point where subconsciously he would put the ball in the back of the net. Through a combination of practice and an elite mentality, Henry would become a striker who you would bet on scoring when confronted with a one v one (and one you could probably bet on scoring from anywhere within thirty yards of goal).

Innate or nurtured ability?

There was far more to Henry’s game than finishing; he would dribble through teams before applying the perfect final touch. In 2004, at the close of Arsenal’s invincibles season, Henry would receive the ball near the halfway line, shrug off Dietmar Hamann, sidestep Jamie Carragher and slot the ball past Jerzy Dudek to propel Arsenal to a 4-2 victory over Liverpool, preserving their unbeaten record in the process. Immense speed on the ball combined with complete control over his body would allow him to shimmy past countless players en route to the goal. Henry was graced with speed from a young age, but this is a quality you can work on. Speed on its own requires strength and athletics training, but running at full speed with the ball at your feet is a different task. Getting the ball out your feet quickly, having awareness of the state of the game around you and being technically proficient on the ball are all skills you can work at. When this is then wedded with finishing ability and confidence, any defender will dread your approach.

More than just a striker

While Henry’s values would help drive him to be a forward that would dominate the goalscoring charts, his all round game, his contributions to the team are what mark him as one of the best players of all time. Arsenal’s invincibles were a cohesive unit, a team where players operated with an almost telepathic connection. Henry would drop deep to create chances for team mates, ormove out to the wings to do the same. Henry said in 2014 that ‘the most beautiful thing is making the pass when you are in a position to score yourself… You share. And you see that joy in the eyes of the other guy.’. Henry put the team first, and had the utmost respect for his elders. At Monaco, he would arrive two hours early for the team bus before a game, not sitting until he was told he could when the team boarded. There were no names on the lockers at the club, so he would wait until all the established players had arrived until finding a place to sit. This humbleness marks him apart from other strikers. There are stories of Ruud van Nistelrooy being distraught after Manchester United after a victory where Henry in a concurrent fixture had out-scored him. This would be out of the question for a player who put the team first, and despite love of the assist he would dominate Van Nistelrooy in terms of scoring accolades in the Premier League.

His legacy

Henry was a part of two of the great dynasties of modern football; the Arsenal teams that contested United’s grip on the Premier League in the late 1990s/early 2000s and Guardiola’s Barcelona. In both of these teams he would make his mark, and his scoring ability would propel them to win countless trophies. I could continue to write about how to model your game on Henry, but the best way to learn from the enigmatic goalscorer would be to see for yourself, there are countless examples online from the archives of his years in the Premier League and beyond.