Thierry Henry praises ‘amazing’ Arsenal fans for giving him a hero’s reception

Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has claimed that his return to Arsenal was an emotional experience for him, but insisted a win for his current club would have made it a memorable night.

Henry, who represented Arsenal from 1999 to 2007, was given a hero’s reception when he came on as a substitute in the second half of the Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.

“I was not surprised by what the Arsenal team did, not with these fans. I’ve said it so many times that it always helps,” The Mirror quoted Henry, as saying.

“On the other side, it would have been better to come back with a win, but it’s still a good result for us. But I’m not surprised at all because I know what can happen here,” he added.

The 32-year-old further said it was a “great feeling amazing”, as the fans showed that they still love him.

“There was a lot of emotion for me, obviously coming on, you heard what happened. The special moment happened at the end. Like we always do as a team at Barcelona, we went to say thank you to our fans and the Arsenal fans,” Henry said

“I would like to thank them for the welcome back. What happened after that, I never imagined. I have great love for the club and I think the fans - you saw them - still love me. It was amazing,” he added.

Henry also warned that Arsenal’s fight back shows they can still pull off a major shock in the Nou Camp next Tuesday.