10 facts about Thierry Henry you didn't know

The name Thierry Henry is synonymous with Arsenal which should come as no surprise as they voted him their best ever player back in 2008.The King plundered 228 goals for the Gunners during his nine year spell in London and has been immortalized in stone outside the Emirates stadium but theres more to Thierry Henry than just brilliant goals.Here are ten facts about Thierry Henry you didnt know.

#1 Signed for Arsenal after a chance meeting with Wenger

In the documentary Arsenal Legends – Thierry Henry confessed to signing for Arsenal after bumping into Wenger, who managed him during his time at Monaco, on a flight from Turin to Paris.

Henry spoke of the incident later and said: ‘Sometimes, destiny is weird. After the Juventus game at the end of the season I went back to Paris. And who was on the plane? The boss was on the plane.That is when I told him I would love to join Arsenal.’

The rest as they say is history.

#2 The first person to score at the Emirates Stadium

The Frenchman became the first ever player to score at the Emirates Stadium back in 2006.

Henry opened the scoring for Arsenal against Ajax during Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial in an eventual 2-1 win for the home team.

#3 Henry is a big basketball fan

The former France international loves basketball and attends many NBA games in his free time.

Henry is friends with fellow countryman and San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker and one of his favourite basketball players is former Philadelphia 76ers point guard Allen Iverson.

#4 Loves Rap Music

Everybody loves rap music and Henry is no different.

He loves listening to rap before matches and some of his favourite artists include Snoop Dogg, Dr.Dre, Wu-Tang Klan and Xzibit.

#5 Is a linguist

Henry has a talent for picking up languages and is fluent in French, Italian, English and Antillean Cole.

And here we thought scoring goals was his only talent.

#6 He\'s a foodie

Footballers usually follow strict diet regimes but Henry has played hooky from his diet once in a while and loves to eat Caribbean food, Peas, rice and chicken.

Hmmm.......no French food? That’s surprising.

#7 Shares his birthday with William Gallas

Henry was born on the same day i.e 17th August 1977 as former France and Arsenal teammate William Gallas.

#8 Supports quite a few charities

Henry does a lot of social work and has been associated with organizations like Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, UNICEF and Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The striker even has his own charity called The One 4 All Foundation which helps combat racism and provides support to underprivileged children.

#9 He\'s quite the movie buff

Henry enjoys watching movies in his free time. The biographical drama Antwone Fisher starring Denzil Washington and crime thriller The Usual Suspects starring Stephen Baldwin and Kevin Spacey are among his favourite films.

He’s even acted in the French film Substitute made by former French-Indian footballer Vikash Dhorasoo.

#10 He has a soft spot for Islam

A lot of people believe that Henry is a follower of Islam but that is mere speculation as the man himself has never divulged what religion he follows.

Many of his former teammates like Franck Ribery and Nicolas Anelka are Muslim converts and Henry has previously stated that he has a special place in his heart for Islam.