Dundalk winger Michael Duffy is looking forward to Thursday’s match as a big Arsenal fan, even taking ‘Thierry’ as his confirmation name after Thierry Henry.

Michael Duffy was probably the happiest man in the Dundalk squad when the team drew Arsenal in the Europa League group stages. He was an Arsenal fan growing up, watching the invincible era, and idolising the club’s record goalscorer Thierry Henry.

“He (Thierry Henry) was my idol when I was growing up,” Duffy admitted. “I asked for Thierry as my confirmation name. They said ‘no’ at the start but the teacher came back two weeks later and said ‘he was a saint so you can have it’!

“The pitch is a joke and the stadium is unbelievable…It’s going to be a brilliant experience tomorrow night (Thursday). It actually still doesn’t even feel like we’re playing Arsenal tomorrow, it’s mad.”

💬 “Thierry Henry was my idol when I was growing up. I asked for Thierry as my confirmation name. They said no at the start but the teacher came back two weeks later and said he was a saint and that I could have it!”

😂 Michael ‘Thierry’ Duffy.#CmonTheTown #UEL pic.twitter.com/jWnj2LFuxD

— DundalkFC (@DundalkFC) October 28, 2020

Any Arsenal fan should know exactly why Duffy is so excited, preparing to step out onto the pitch at the Emirates Stadium on a European night. Let’s just hope he doesn’t channel that excitement into motivation to score!

Duffy has been a regular throughout the Dundalk season so far. He’s up to 23 appearances and nine goal contributions from the left-wing.

The Irish Premier League works on a calendar year format, though it’s a lot shorter than usual this season thanks to the pandemic. The differing format is why he’s made so many more appearances than you’d expect by October, as a lot of them came pre-summer.