Arsenal FC unveiled statues of three legendary figures as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations. Arsenal.com reports Thierry Henry, Tony Adams and Herbert Chapman were immortalized in bronze statues that fans can find at Emirates Stadium.
"I'm more than proud — honored, privileged. At the very beginning I honestly thought it was a joke, until I realized it wasn't," Henry said. "As I said out there, 125 years of history, when you know the players that have played for Arsenal Football Club and I was chosen to be out there next to the stadium.
"I was fortunate to have won a lot of stuff in my career but that tops it all. You don't dream about that, it doesn't ever come into your head. Like I said many times, I always went out there in the Arsenal shirt and played 100 percent."
Henry starred for the Gunners from 1999-2007. During that time he scored a club-record 226 goals in 380 games. He was a key figure in manager Arsene Wenger's great Arsenal teams of the early 2000s.
Adams made his Arsenal debut in 1983 as a 17-year-old defender. He would become an Arsenal regular before the age of 20 and go on to make 669 appearances for his boyhood club, winning 10 major trophies, including three league titles. He served as club captain for 14 years, before departing in 2002.
Arsenal recruited Chapman from Huddersfield town in 1925 and it was nothing short of a coup for the North London club. He brought modern methods to Arsenal in his nine years in charge, becoming known as a master innovator. His tactics and training techniques were copied by many English clubs. He guided the Gunners to two league championships and one FA cup between 1925-34.
Chapman suddenly died of pneumonia in 1934, but he left a dominant team in place. Arsenal would win three more league titles in the 1930s. The statue is just one of many honors Chapman would receive after his death.
