The former soccer star sits down with Boardroom to talk about his Lay’s partnership with David Beckham, Arsenal’s chances in Champions League tourney play, and more.
When naming players who forever changed modern football, any list without Thierry Henry is invalid. Every time the Frenchman stepped onto the pitch, it was seemingly a guaranteed show. Even the opponent’s fans had no other choice but to marvel at his greatness.
These days, the Arsenal legend is still a namesake in soccer but now calls the shots from the analyst chair. Henry is currently a pundit with CBS Sports in their UEFA Champions League coverage, a role he’s held since September 2021. With the Champions League returning to action this week, the now 46-year-old admits the game has changed a lot compared to when he’s played, but the competition remains remarkably unique.
“When you step out of the group stage and you arrive at the knockout stage, it becomes something different,” he explained. “Everybody wants to watch it. I coached a couple of games also with Monaco in it, so I kind of touched everything. I’ve experienced all the ‘humility’ that comes with competing in the Champions League. I’ve lost a final, won one, and had both good and bad moments. The competition is just something special.”
Henry experienced his fair share of happiness and heartbreak in his eight years at Arsenal. During his tenure as a Gunner, Henry won two Premier League titles, two FA Cup trophies, and two Community Shields.
The one award he didn’t lift while in North London? The illustrious Champions League.
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Don’t worry, the 2003 Ballon d’Or runner-up picked up one of those with Barcelona in the 2008-09 season. But to this day, Henry remains a staunch supporter of Arsenal, and when asked by Boardroom how Mikel Arteta’s men will fare in the Round of 16, he provided a frank assessment.
“It’s a long road; it’s very difficult to call,” Henry said, joking that he’s just happy to watch football on Tuesday and Wednesday again. “Who would’ve thought Inter Milan would have gone to the final last year? It was virtually impossible to call.
“I just hope that we can surprise people. But it all depends on the draw. If you meet someone too early that’s supposed to win, it can be a tough one. You might surprise them in one game, but home and away against a big team, at times, is not that easy. So, let’s hope we can win it.”
As for Arsenal’s chances at its first Premier League title since the famous Invincibles season in 2023-24? Per usual, it’s always a toss-up.
“Well, last year everyone thought that we could do it — unfortunately, experience talks. I think last year, we were the second youngest team in the league, and at one point, towards the end, is going to have an impact. If a team is used to this type of situation like Manchester City is, it shows in the end. The battle this year is just crazy in the Premier League. You just don’t know what teams will pull ahead and who’s going to win it.
“But Arsenal is just amazing, and I think we’re in good shape.”
The three-time domestic champions currently sit in third in the Premier League table, tied in second place with Manchester City and two points behind first-place Liverpool. Regardless of how Arsenal finishes this year, Henry agreed there are generational talents that will eventually bring a title back to the Emirates Stadium.
“When I think about Arsenal, I think about Bukayo Saka. He’s from the academy, he’s a Londoner, he’s an Arsenal fan and he’s performing. I’m not saying that the other guys are not good; this is not what I’m saying. But Saka is the guy that I always think about when it comes to Arsenal,” Henry said.
Thierry Henry x Lay’s
So many of Henry’s post-retirement activities have revolved around punditry and management. But when he does dip into entrepreneurial ventures, it still revolves around the beautiful game.
In celebration of the Champions League’s return, Henry teamed up with Lay’s to launch the “No Lay’s, No Game 2024” campaign. Through an innovative “Chip Cam” stunt featuring fellow soccer legend David Beckham, the brand wants to bring joy to fans around the globe who watch the beautiful game with Lay’s in hand.
For his second stint with the chip brand, Henry and Beckham asked, “Do you have Lay’s?” to a crowd of 75,000 cheering fans at San Siro during a match between AC Milan and PSG. Just before kickoff, Beckham realizes Henry has eaten all his chips. What follows is a call through the Chip Cam, a fun spin on the traditional Kiss Cam, to help identify a fan who might also have chips of their own to share.
“When I saw the script and what I had to do, I was like, ‘Hmm, I played for Juventus, it’s in Milan’s stadium, it’s the enemy. They’re going to put me on the jumbo tron.’ That will be a bit unexpected,” Henry joked about the spot. “But I had Becks with me, and he played for Milan, so I was like, ‘OK, if they put Becks first, that would be OK.’
“I never thought in my life that I was going to address a crowd of 75,000 people in the Champions League game when they’re all waiting for the game to start. It was live, obviously, so you can’t make any mistakes, but it was good fun. It was an experience — something that I’m not used to — but it’s always something good and challenging with Lay’s when we do something. It’s not the boring usual smile and go. It’s always something more, and that night was pretty amazing.”
US residents can access the infamous Lay’s Detector used in the video above on Lay’s Instagram and Facebook.
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