Thierry Henry is one of the Premier League’s two inaugural inductees to their new Hall of Fame, along with Alan Shearer.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 3: Striker Thierry Henry (L) holds up his shirt with Manager Arsene Wenger having been signed for Arsenal 03 August, 1999 from Juventus for an undisclosed fee. The 21-year old French international, who played under Arsene Wenger at AS Monaco was the leading scorer for the French World Cup winning squad at France '98 scoring three goals during the tournament. (Photo credit SINEAD LYNCH/AFP/Getty Images)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Striker Thierry Henry (L) holds up his shirt with Manager Arsene Wenger having been signed for Arsenal on 03 August 1999 from Juventus for an undisclosed fee. (Photo credit SINEAD LYNCH/AFP/Getty Images)

The Premier League announced on Monday that Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer were their first two inductees in the new PL Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame honours former players with “an exceptional record of on-pitch success”, and the Premier League describe it as “the highest individual honour awarded to players by the Premier League”.

The award is specifically limited to retired players, and for now, that means players who retired by 1st August 2020. Presumably, that will change with each passing year, making Wayne Rooney (for example) eligible next year, given he retired in January.

Fans will vote on future inductees from a 23-man shortlist each year, with six players selected through that vote combined with a panel decision.

Latest Arsenal injury updates and news

As a minimum, you have to fulfil one of the below requirements to be eligible for the award:

  • 250 Premier League appearances
  • 200 Premier League appearances for a single club
  • Premier League Team of the Decade or 20-Year Anniversary teams
  • Won a Premier League Golden Boot or Golden Glove
  • Premier League Player of the Season winner
  • Winner of three or more Premier League titles
  • Scorer of 100+ Premier League goals or keeper of 100+ clean sheets (GK only)

Henry qualifies with ease, having made over 250 Premier League appearances, all of them for Arsenal, appearing in a Premier League Team of the Decade and 20 Seasons Awards team, winning four Golden Boots, two Player of the Season awards and scoring 175 goals.

The Premier League wrote: “Pace, power and grace. Henry gave Premier League defenders nightmares for eight seasons. Converted by Arsene Wenger from a winger to striker, he redefined forward play, starting on the left, but proving just as deadly closer to goal.

“He scored over 20 Premier League goals five seasons running, claiming four Golden Boots, with some outrageous strikes.

“Not content with just scoring he provided 74 assists, including a record 20 in 2002/03, and he won two Player of the Season awards.”

Voting on the six other inductees for this year will begin on 26th April, 19:00 BST – likely here on the Premier League site.

Latest Arsenal injury updates and news