I'm Gunner beat Wright's record, says Thierry

Striker Thierry Henry believes it is now only a matter of time before he breaks Ian Wright’s all-time Arsenal goalscoring record.

Henry has just passed the milestone of 100 Premier League goals, taking just 160 appearances to reach the mark – making him the second-quickest player to do so, behind Alan Shearer.

However, he has also already scored a total of 136 goals for the club in all competitions, placing him just 50 behind Wright’s record.

At his current prolific rate, it could take Henry less than two more years to break that record and he admits he is already thinking about the prospect of doing so.

The Frenchman, who is set to return to Arsenal’s side for tomorrow’s Premiership clash at Chelsea, said: “It depends on injury but I think that it’s a matter of when [not if] it happens.

“Obviously I know what the record is and, as everyone can imagine, it’s amazing to already have 136 goals for Arsenal. I hope there will be plenty more to come.

“Obviously now people are talking about it more and more because I’m getting closer to it. That was surely not my plan when I first arrived. First, I was just looking to get one goal.

“Now I’m getting closer and, once again, it’s not my target. But I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think about it.

“I do think about it sometimes at home or when people ask how much would I love to have the record. But I will always just try to play my game.”

Henry missed last weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round victory against Chelsea due to a foot injury, while he was also rested from France’s midweek international friendly against Belgium.

That should leave him raring to go for tomorrow’s game at Stamford Bridge, having reached and then passed his century of Premiership goals in the last league game against Southampton on February 10.

“I never arrived here and said, ‘I want to score 100 goals for Arsenal’, my target was to try to be good in every game and that’s not easy,” he told the club’s official programme.

“To be honest, it’s something amazing. What means the most to me is that I have done it at one club.

“Some of the players on the list have done it at more than one team but, like Wrighty, I’ve done it all at Arsenal. That proves loyalty and the desire for the team that I have.”

“I hope that I will carry on as long as I can. It’s better if you can do it really quickly, but that wasn’t my target.”

In Henry’s absence against Chelsea last weekend, Jose Reyes struck his first two goals for the club in a 2-1 victory.

Henry believes that initial goal for a new club, something which took him until September 18 in his first season, can enable a player to cross a significant mental barrier.

“It’s more that you want to please people,” he recalled.

“It’s not about yourself, you want to prove to people that you can do it. When I first arrived here, I wanted to show the Arsenal fans that I could do it. You also want to make your boss and team-mates proud of you.”

Sol Campbell (groin) and Freddie Ljungberg (ribs) are both hoping to be fit while Ashley Cole is out and Gilberto doubtful after both sustained injuries on international duty in midweek.

Ray Parlour (knee ligaments) is definitely out and Martin Keown is suspended.