By Oyinlola Awonuga (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)
Arsenal and France legend, Thierry Henry has been voted Premier League’s greatest player ever.This was according to the final voting results of The Mirror’s Football’s World Cup of Premier League greats. The World Cup of Premier League greats pitted 32 of the finest talents to ever grace the Premier League against each other over the past few weeks, all in a World Cup format. And in the final round contested between Henry and legendary Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, the 1998 World Cup Winner secured 82 per cent of the votes.
Other Premier League stars past and present who were in the running include; Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Petr Cech, Alan Shearer, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira.Also included are Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard, Eric Cantona, Eden Hazard, Wayne Rooney, Yaya Toure, Paul Scholes and Vincent Kompany.
Henry joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999, won the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield, before departing for Barcelona on 2007. He came back for a brief loan spell at Arsenal midway through the 2011/12 season. He is credited with revolutionising the role of a central striker, boasting incredible pace and an eye for goal which saw him net 175 top-flight goals.
And those exploits have earned him another accolade- mirror football’s No.1 Premier League great. During his time at Barcelona he won the treble in the 2008/2009 season. For Giggs, he was a mainstay of several of Sir Alex Ferguson’s great Manchester United sides, and helped set the Old Trafford standards during an era when success followed success for the Red Devils.With 13 Premier League title to his name, Giggs is United’s all-time record appearance holder, and after serving on the club’s coaching under previous boss Louis van Gaal , he is now in charge of the Wales national team.
