Latest Sport News - MARTIN SAMUEL: Why Thierry Henry doesn't make my top five
Sergio Aguero started it, really.Standing on the Eithad pitch, holding his commemorative blue glass boot, details of every record-breaking goal for Manchester City inscribed on the plinth.It gets a person thinking.Where would he sit, amid the greatest foreign players to join our Premier League? The best from his continent, that is for sure.It is hard to think of a finer visitor from South America, not even among the Brazilians.But what if we were to whittle it down to, say, five? Just a handful of names across more than a quarter of a century.Would he make that list, would he survive such an exacting cut? So many to choose from.An entire XI could be picked from, say, Chelsea alone.Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ricardo Carvalho, Marcel Desailly, Cesar Azpilicueta, Claude Makelele, N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Gianfranco Zola, Arjen Robben, Didier Drogba.And still no room for Diego Costa, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack — or Ruud Gullit.The problem with any exercise of this nature, even for fun, is who to leave out.Cheating is an option, obviously, expanding it to 10, fitting in all the greats.But who wants a list without tough decisions or surprises? It is the selection process that is key, really.The criteria used to make the final call.I might as well tell you now.Thierry Henry is not in my list.I know.I'm pretty angry about it, too.I'm thinking of writing myself a strongly-worded letter on the subject right now.What was I thinking? Well, I know what I was thinking.At least hear me out.Were the Premier League's top five foreign players based on aesthetic qualities alone, Henry would walk it.He epitomises the beautiful game.He is not missing because there were flaws or failures, I am not about to pick holes in the career of one of the finest footballers of the modern era.Henry scored 30 goals or more in five consecutive seasons for Arsenal.He was Footballer of the Year three times.His technique was out of this world, his poise sublime, his game intelligence gave him an extra yard, as if any were needed.I loved watching Henry.I wouldn't trust a soul who didn't.But here is why he is absent.This list needs a deciding factor.There is too much talent, too much greatness to make it just about the player alone.This is the clincher: I want revolutionaries.I want players who were the pioneers; who changed the culture at their club; who made such a difference here the game wasn't the same again.And Henry wasn't there for the first stage of Arsene Wenger's transformation of Arsenal.He wasn't around for the Double in 1997-98, when Wenger became the first foreign coach to win an English league title.Henry joined when Arsenal were already a force.And, yes, he made them even stronger, even smarter, even better to watch.Yes, he was an Invincible.But so were others who were there for the whole ride.So I've gone with one of them.I feel guilty about Luis Suarez, too.He nearly won the league on his own.But that is the criteria: those who changed the game, not just you for watching my channel.
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