Thierry Henry has reiterated that he wants to manage Arsenal one day and he’d even be happy being the kit man or cutting the grass.
Thierry Henry resigned recently as the manager of Montreal Impact in order to return to London to be with his family. The pandemic, as it has for so many, playing its part.
Heavily linked with the Bournemouth job, the Cherries eventually went with Jonathan Woodgate, leaving Henry looking for employment.
“Listen, if you ask an Arsenal fan if they’d like to coach Arsenal one day, they’ll say yes,” Henry told Four Four Two for their latest edition.
“If you ask an Arsenal fan if they’d like to score a goal for Arsenal, they’ll say yes. When I speak about it, it’s a utopia. People get carried away whenever I say that it’s my club, but I have it in my blood – I’m an Arsenal fan.
“So if you’re asking me if one day I’d like to coach Arsenal, then yes. If you ask if one day I’d like to be Arsenal’s kit man, then yes. If you ask if one day I’d like to cut the grass at the Emirates Stadium, then yes.”
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But Arsenal aren’t the only former club he has his dreamy eye on.
“If you ask me am I dreaming, yes I’m dreaming. But when you’re not dreaming, you’re awake and there is a reality,” Henry continued.
“Would I love to coach Arsenal? Yes. Would I love to go to Barcelona? Yes. Would I like to play for Arsenal again? I’d love to play for them again, but the reality is I can’t!”
“I’m on my learning curve, I want to do well for the team I’m coaching, then time will tell. If you’re not successful, you’re not going to have those types of opportunities. I’m just concentrating on what I can control, and the rest is a massive utopia. Would I have liked to sing like Lionel Richie? Yes, but I don’t sing like Lionel Richie!”
Unfortunately, Henry’s spell in management so far hasn’t gone particularly well so far. He left AS Monaco after 20 games with a 20% win rate, and now he’s leaving CF Montreal at 31% after 29 games.
His team finished the last MLS season in ninth place of the 14 teams in the Eastern Conference, 18th out of 26 overall.
Yet, you can’t really know how much of that is coaching and how much is the team he was left with. Montreal finished in exactly the same positions the previous season, so the worst you can say is that he didn’t significantly improve them.
As an Arsenal fan, you have to hope he’ll find more success in his next role.
For the time being, I’m sure he’ll take some time to enjoy being around his family again.