There was a time when he was simply unstoppable; the best striker in the planet. But as with all great footballing careers, there comes a time when the magic has to end.

Thierry Henry, the man who transformed Arsenal Football Club much in the same manner Eric Cantona did for Manchester United, has retired after an insane career where he’s won pretty much everything – the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League, English Premier League, FA Cup, Copa del Rey, La Liga, Club World Cup…. You get the picture.

Following promising but fairly unspectacular spells at Monaco and Juventus, Henry arrived at Arsenal in 1999 as a relatively unknown quantity — despite having won the World Cup with a Zinedine Zidane-inspired France.

He was used largely as a left-winger in a tactically-rigid Juventus side, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger immediately started moulding him into a striker, a move that would pay off spectacularly over the years.

Arsene Wenger unveiling the signing of Henry back in 1999, when Henry was still a relatively unknown quantity despite having won the 1998 World Cup with France.

Here’s a video of some of his best goals:

His career record reads 360 goals in 792 games, which in the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo might not sound like much, but at the height of his powers, he was scoring goals for fun. He won the Premier League Golden Boot award (given to the division’s top scorer) four times between 2001 and 2006.

During his years at Arsenal, he bagged 226 goals in 369 games, and was part of “The Invincibles” — the Arsenal team that went an entire season unbeaten.

But Henry wasn’t just about the goals. He lit up the Premier League with his sensational ability to run with the ball.

Check out this skills video:

And then there was this Nike ad, which showcased Henry’s street football cred.

He was, quite simply, one of a kind – and that’s a lot coming from a Manchester United fan. Au revoir, Henry.