Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has spoken of his delight at seeing his former club arrive in the USA for their pre-season tour.
The Gunners will come up against their all-time leading goalscorer in Saturday’s friendly game against New York Red Bulls.
It is the north London outfit’s first trip to America in a quarter-of-a-century and Arsene Wenger’s men will look to celebrate the occasion in fine style by spoiling Henry’s party.
Even the prospect of suffering defeat against the club where he became a legend has not dulled the Frenchman’s appetite for the contest at the Red Bull Arena.
He shared his enthusiasm with his followers on Twitter and said: “Welcome @Arsenal to NYC! Great to have you here.”
Henry is expecting Wenger’s side to challenge for top honours domestically and in Europe during the 2014-15 campaign.
He has made no secret of his joy at seeing Arsenal secure the services of attacker Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona in a deal which exceeded £30million.
Henry thinks the arrival of Sanchez will allow the team to build on the FA Cup triumph in May, which ended their nine-year wait for a piece of silverware.
He added: “I am looking forward to seeing him (Sanchez) play soon.”
Sanchez had been the subject of strong interest from Juventus and Liverpool, but London was his preferred destination.
He was one of Chile’s stand-out performers in the World Cup, netting a memorable goal against host nation Brazil in the second round only to experience the bitter taste of a penalty shoot-out defeat.