Henry ‘should be top of the world’

ARSENE WENGER declared that Thierry Henry can seal his place as the “player of his generation” by finally landing the FIFA world player of the year award in 2005.

The Arsenal striker was runner-up for this year’s award behind Ronaldinho, just as he was pushed into second place by compatriot Zinedine Zidane 12 months earlier. Zidane would seem to have confirmed his place as the best player of recent years, but Wenger is convinced Henry can emulate that feat and match the likes of Pele, Bobby Moore and Michel Platini.

He was therefore stunned to see the Frenchman, who had led Arsenal to the title and an unbeaten run of 49 league games, finish behind Ronaldinho, who lit up La Liga but has yet to win anything with Barcelona.