After the Frenchman’s footage from a charity match went viral, Thierry Henry may have sacrificed his qualifications to become Arsenal’s next striker in the midst of their injury crisis. In an attempt to raise money for underprivileged children, the 47-year-old was one of several footballing legends and celebrities that participated in the Match for Hope tournament in Qatar.
Influencers KSI and AboFlah led the opposing teams, which were overseen by Arsene Wenger and iShowSpeed, who appeared to have bounced back from his unfortunate bump during the 2025 Royal Rumble. But Henry was the star of the show, reversing the years to deliver a sophisticated performance that has some calling for him to return to the Emirates.
Henry’s Inspiring Charity Match Performance
As supporters demanded that the Frenchman quit for Arsenal, he exuded class.
🇫🇷Thierry Henry vs CSX
⭐️Class is permanent
✍️Free agent
🤭Sign him up pic.twitter.com/5O9J9674kR— 🇳🇴 kimmoFC (@kimmoFC) February 14, 2025
Henry can be seen doing some of his trademark tricks in the widely shared video, such as his standing foot pass and no-look. From a deeper position, the Frenchman frequently controlled the game, allowing his teammates to rush off him for some dangerous attacks. In addition to being notably selfless, the former PFA Player of the Year attempted to increase the chances of scoring for some of his team’s influencers rather than going for it himself.
Fortunately, this strategy didn’t backfire, as Henry’s squad prevailed 6–5 thanks to a late goal from comedian Adam Waheed. Tobi Brown, a Sidemen member and YouTuber, handled Henry’s attempted flick, earning him a penalty for his team even though he didn’t score.
In light of their continuous injury crisis, several supporters have called for Henry to return to Arsenal as a result of his performance. The Gunners will probably be without a recognized striker for the rest of the season due to Kai Havertz’s hamstring injury. Some web users have made jokes that the club legend, who is technically a free agent, ought to be signed.
One fan asserted that “47-year-old Henry would be the best reinforcement for the attack,” while another said, “Let’s bring him out of retirement just for the season’s reminder.” No free agent is better than him, in my opinion.
Lol Thierry Henry is still in good shape@Arsenal make the call now
— Ikem (@ikemadani1) February 15, 2025
Why don't we pay per match for Henry. ♥️
— arsenal (@JulieAt02335370) February 14, 2025
Other Football Icons Involved in Match For Hope
Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero got on the scoresheet
The Official ‘Match For Hope’ lineups are out.
Some of the names on here…🤯 pic.twitter.com/cFKHTcOecS
— george (@StokeyyG2) February 5, 2025
On Friday night, in addition to Henry, a number of other football legends were on exhibit. Juventus greats Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero joined the former Arsenal striker as they lined up in the middle of the park with side iShowSpeed, which was led by Spanish World Cup winners David Silva and Andres Iniesta.
Only Del Piero was able to get on the scoresheet, despite the fact that all of the previous players had the potential to dominate the match. Although YouTuber SV2 scored an incredible hat-trick and KSI managed to score an awful own goal, Silva and Iniesta each contributed two assists that evening.
However, iShowSpeed had a bad night as he failed to pose much of an offensive threat, continuing his lackluster trend in charity matchups.
