Thierry Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and in his 8 year stay, until 2007 he scored an amazing 226 goals in just 380 games. He was noted for his strength, stamina and mind blowing technique along with his keen desire to give 100 percent each time he played. The Frenchman was also a great all rounder. Although his official position was as a forward he was renowned for his penalty taking and ability to assist in any situation making dead balls good balls and occasionally goals.

When Henry joined The Gunners he was not a particularly trained striker and kept his position as a lateral player. But it was under the careful guidance of manager Arsene Wenger that Thierry Henry was transformed into an extraordinary goal shooting machine. Although it took him several games to get into his groove as far as goal scoring was concerned, as soon as he found his feet there was no stopping him.

Thierry Henry saw London club Arsenal through to win two League Champions Cups in 2002 and 2004 and two FA Cup titles also in 2002 and in 2003. He gained much respect both on and off the field and his popularity among fans was on the increase. In 2005 he was made captain following Patrick Vieira’s departure and he himself left Arsenal in 2007 after signing up with Barcelona.

The reason for a new stadium was due to the small seating capacity Highbury had. There was simply no room for expansion and with an ever growing fan base the waiting list for season tickets was getting far too long. Arsenal football club was losing out on a lot of revenue but the problem lay in the finding of a new site within the city of London.

The new site is located just 500 yards from the beloved Highbury and planning permission went ahead in 1999. However due to both planning and financial setbacks the opening of the new Emirates Stadium was out back from 2003 to 2006. At one point it was even thought that Arsenal would move into the newly revamp Wembley Stadium.

The project itself cost in excess of £470 million and was no easy ride for Arsenal to subsidise. Many delays were caused as a result of lack of funding but all was resolved by the granting of a loan and several UK Government bonds.

Emirates Stadium has a seating capacity for over 60,000 people and apart from being the new home football ground to Arsenal FC; it is also used as a conference centre and for hosting various music concerts.