{"id":44,"date":"2026-02-21T11:11:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T11:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/?p=44"},"modified":"2026-02-21T11:11:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T11:11:53","slug":"arsenal-and-its-french-players-a-love-story-that-lasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/?p=44","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal and its French players, a love story that lasts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"c-chapo \">\n<p>  Luis Enrique&#8217;s players are eagerly awaited by the London Gunners on Tuesday in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-time\">\n<p>\n  <span class=\"publication-date__published\"><\/p>\n<p>    Published <time datetime=\"2025-04-29T14:10:06+02:00\">on 29\/04\/2025 14:10<\/time><br \/>\n  <\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"publication-date__metadatas-separator\"\/><br \/>\n    <span class=\"publication-date__modified\"><\/p>\n<p>      Updated <time class=\"publication-date__time\" datetime=\"2025-04-29T14:10:10+02:00\">on 29\/04\/2025 14:10<\/time><br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"reading-time \"><br \/>\n    <svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" class=\"\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" xlink:href=\"#ftvi-icon-timer-outlined\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>        Reading time: 2min<br \/>\n  <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-cover \">\n<figure role=\"group\">\n<picture class=\"picture-wrapper\"><source type=\"image\/avif\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/Om0X5jpICGY877efOOKLRBrUz7w\/0x9:768x441\/432x243\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 432w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/HqlRn2WKQmdtpFx_ewRSFIj6A4A\/0x9:768x441\/720x405\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/525hUiYwYIEQyW9cm0zSpx37FyA\/0x9:768x441\/1024x576\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/2DjpFSjvBbXmp9ZfWINtnTKn7-Q\/0x9:768x441\/1328x747\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 1328w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/HznlY1f7KWOV0RqgFcfMbmt5238\/0x9:768x441\/2656x1494\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 2656w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1440px) 885px, (min-width: 1200px) 50vw, 90vw\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/wd_YyUNr9Sxh2dJqC0V5Tomr6CY\/0x9:768x441\/432x243\/filters:format(webp)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 432w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/fPxB27CMts8nnjI5Dk4BlXrzD5g\/0x9:768x441\/720x405\/filters:format(webp)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/dhjPUkADKSt5NVrMs0q_78IyvME\/0x9:768x441\/1024x576\/filters:format(webp)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/kQ2duVQDaGjGQtuMtidv_IbC1zA\/0x9:768x441\/1328x747\/filters:format(webp)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 1328w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/fVQs2Djz2WJTb6DvOw9vLgDr5Vc\/0x9:768x441\/2656x1494\/filters:format(webp)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg 2656w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1440px) 885px, (min-width: 1200px) 50vw, 90vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1440px) 885px, (min-width: 1200px) 50vw, 90vw\" alt=\"Football player Thierry Henry, wearing an Arsenal jersey, celebrates a goal against Leeds United in London, January 9, 2012. (IAN KINGTON \/ AFP)\" width=\"432\" height=\"243\" src=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/m9o97oU0cE9rwblF-t6u9GlljQE\/0x9:768x441\/432x243\/filters:format(jpg)\/2012\/02\/19\/Henry.jpg\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption>Soccer player Thierry Henry, wearing an Arsenal jersey, celebrates a goal against Leeds United in London, January 9, 2012. <span>(IAN KINGTON \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The fight promises to be tough. Less brilliant recently, Luis Enrique&#8217;s PSG wants to strike hard against the Arsenal Gunners, Tuesday April 29 in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League and get closer (well, some would say) to the hoped-for final. The fact remains that the Londoners, like PSG, have only played in one final of the competition: it was in 2006, ending with a defeat against Barcelona. And if PSG has, for several years, had a certain popularity around the world, in London in particular, Arsenal remains a club very marked by all these &#8220;Frenchies&#8221; who have worn its colors. <\/p>\n<p>The proof with, undoubtedly, the most famous of them: on the forecourt of the Emirates Stadium, Thierry Henry is there, on his knees, celebrating a goal, frozen in bronze for eternity. Like the top scorer in the club&#8217;s history, these Frenchmen from Arsenal have marked the history of the club, and even, according to some supporters, completely changed the history of the club.<\/p>\n<figure role=\"group\" class=\"fig-cms-media-image\">\n<picture class=\"picture-wrapper\"><source type=\"image\/avif\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/4qs5UvKUwkhCSCHeyykIcWDeh2s\/0x479:3000x2161\/fit-in\/720x\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2014\/12\/16\/000_DV1089735_1.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/QoyWaO8s8GF6pbgn2bxmaXwjxmY\/0x479:3000x2161\/fit-in\/540x\/filters:format(avif):quality(50)\/2014\/12\/16\/000_DV1089735_1.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"\"\/><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/U6p9PQzmEL4ftYtVs7k26QtkhSI\/0x479:3000x2161\/fit-in\/720x\/filters:format(webp)\/2014\/12\/16\/000_DV1089735_1.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/g13MA_KWgmv7jvNZIs7Z7UZAFfg\/0x479:3000x2161\/fit-in\/540x\/filters:format(webp)\/2014\/12\/16\/000_DV1089735_1.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"\"\/><noscript><br \/>\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/BGtuRGptjYPZ21KdVfefF5zHOtc\/0x479:3000x2161\/fit-in\/720x\/filters:format(jpg)\/2014\/12\/16\/000_DV1089735_1.jpg\" class=\"cms-media-image\" alt=\"Top scorer in Arsenal's history, with 226 goals, Thierry Henry has, since 2012, had a statue in front of the Emirates Stadium in London (United Kingdom). (GLYN KIRK \/ AFP)\" width=\"720\" height=\"403.68\" data-sizes=\"auto\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"cms-media-image lazyload\" alt=\"Top scorer in Arsenal's history, with 226 goals, Thierry Henry has, since 2012, had a statue in front of the Emirates Stadium in London (United Kingdom). (GLYN KIRK \/ AFP)\" width=\"720\" height=\"403.68\" data-sizes=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.franceinfo.fr\/pictures\/BGtuRGptjYPZ21KdVfefF5zHOtc\/0x479:3000x2161\/fit-in\/720x\/filters:format(jpg)\/2014\/12\/16\/000_DV1089735_1.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption>Top scorer in Arsenal&#8217;s history, with 226 goals, Thierry Henry has, since 2012, had a statue in front of the Emirates Stadium in London (United Kingdom). <span>(GLYN KIRK \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>&#8220;There are many French people, expatriates here, who support Arsenal, because Arsenal has a history very linked to French football, with French players, notably the 98 generation, with Emmanuel Petit, Thierry Henry, Robert Pir\u00e8s&#8230; Many French people have an affection for this club<\/em>&#8220;, underlines Stuart, a Parisian supporter who lives in London.<\/p>\n<p>If Arsenal is the French&#8217;s favorite club, it is first and foremost the work of Arsene Wenger. He too at his statue in London: the French coach remained at the helm of the club for 22 years. &#8220;<em>He was so&#8230; French! Thanks to him, there is always a link, there is a real connection, an affinity between Arsenal and the French. Today, there is Saliba&#8230; And because he is French and there is all this heritage, the supporters love him even more<\/em>&#8220;, specifies John Cross, journalist at <em>Daily Mirror<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>William Saliba, a real rock within the best defense in the Premier League, is in fact the last in a very long line which began in 1996 with the arrival of R\u00e9mi Gard, Wenger&#8217;s first French recruit at Arsenal. Since then, around thirty have worn the Gunners jersey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"didomi\/javascript\" data-vendor=\"c:facebookp-jUyJUEY9\">\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.defer=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  '\n  fbq('init', '882125681855230');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luis Enrique&#8217;s players are eagerly awaited by the London Gunners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}