Thierry Henry doubles down on Arsenal stance with message to fans after protests

Thierry Henry had never previously criticised Arsenal’s ownership but after coming out against Stan Kroenke’s recent actions at the weekend, he has followed that up with further comments on Monday morning.

He may have had a statue of himself put up outside Emirates Stadium under Kroenke’s watch but that has not stopped Henry from speaking out against the club’s American owner after the failed attempt to join a European Super League .

There is a strong case that Henry was one of the main reasons the Gunners would be considered for a role as one of the 12 founding clubs of the Super League, with the Frenchman the club’s all-time record goalscorer who played a pivotal role in claiming their last two Premier League titles and guided them into their only Champions League final appearance in 2006.

“I do not recognise my club and what happened just now, with them trying to join a league that would have been closed, makes no sense to me,” Henry told the Telegraph , in an article published at the weekend.

“They have been running the club like a company, not a football club, and they showed their hand.

“Maybe it’s a lack of understanding of the core football values and maybe the money was too big of a temptation. But whatever it was, they got it wrong. Badly wrong.”

“I was genuinely shocked like most people and couldn’t believe what was unfolding,” Henry added.

“I’m proud of what the fans achieved. Not just Arsenal fans, all the fans. The result was a victory for football.”

Henry is one of the most revered footballers of his generation and has won almost every major trophy going, having claimed the World Cup and European Championship with France and the Champions League with Barcelona.

Henry finished his career with 411 goals in 917 games and after finishing playing, initially joined Sky Sports as a pundit.

After spells as a youth coach at Arsenal and then assistant manager with the Belgium national team, he became head coach at Monaco and then Major League Soccer side CF Montreal, where he resigned in February for personal reasons.

Arsenal’s attempt to join a European Super League has infuriated supporters of the side and – like most other clubs involved in the plans – there have been protests outside their stadium in the last week.

And Henry reinforced his support of the club’s fans’ protests this morning during an interview with TalkSport.

Henry said: "They are not happy. I’m a fan, I’m with them.

“I was happy with the protests. I couldn’t go but I’m happy with what they’ve done because it is your club and if you want things to be done, it is your club.

“Fans will always decide the future of the club."

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