Top 5: Frenchmen to play in the Premier League

1. Thierry Henry

Let’s be honest, there was only one player that could top this list. Thierry Henry came into the league as an unknown quantity, someone whose career had stagnated at Juventus, where he was being wasted on the wing.

He then joined former manager Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in 1999 in an attempt to rejuvenate his career. He did not just rejuvenate his career, he became the best striker the league has ever seen.

Equipped with blistering pace and unbelievable finishing ability, Henry would destroy opposition defences almost at will.

He spent eight seasons at Arsenal, scoring 226 goals in 369 games at 0.61 goals per game. In the process, the Frenchman shattered all sorts of records at Arsenal, including becoming their all-time leading goalscorer.

Despite what he achieved at Arsenal, as a team who perhaps underachieved in North London, ‘all’ he won was two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and two Charity Shields.

He would leave Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007, where he would play a key role in a team that has been widely regarded as the greatest team of all-time.

But it was where at Arsenal where Henry made his name, and his former club honoured his achievements by erecting a bronze statue for him outside the ground in 2011, a fitting tribute for someone who achieved so much at the club.

The great Frenchman could easily be considered the best player to ever play for Arsenal. I’ll go further than that. He is the best player in Arsenal’s history. But he is also the greatest player in the history of the Premier League.