Arsenal icon thierry henry in shock resignation, citing personal reasons

Thierry Henry has resigned as France under-21 manager, with a Fédération Française de Football (FFF) statement citing 'personal reasons' for Henry's decision to depart the

role. The former Arsenal forward led France under-23s to an Olympic silver medal on home turf earlier this month, with his side falling to a 5-3 extra time defeat to Spain. An injury time

penalty from Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta had forced the extra half-hour of play, but Rayo Vallecano's Sergio Camello scored a brace in injury time to earn Spain the gold

medals. You may like VIDEO WHY ARSENAL WANT MIKEL MERINO SO BADLY THIERRY HENRY RESIGNS FROM FRANCE UNDER-21S FOR PERSONAL REASONS Henry had been in the post since August last year, having

previously also stepped down as Montreal Impact boss for personal reasons in 2021: he had been unable to travel to London to see his children as often has planned because of covid

restrictions. Henry said in an FFF statement: "I would like to thank the FFF and [federation] president Philippe Diallo, who offered me this incredible opportunity. "Winning the

silver medal at the Olympic Games for my country will remain one of the greatest prides of my life. I am incredibly grateful to the Federation, the players, the staff and the supporters who

allowed me to live a magical experience." The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Diallo said: "On behalf of the FFF, I would like to

thank Thierry Henry for all the work he has accomplished at the head of the youth and Olympic teams. "We obviously regret this decision because Thierry Henry was able to achieve the

objectives that had been set for him by winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, 40 years after the Olympic medal in Los Angeles. "Having followed him throughout this campaign, I

was able to discover his great professionalism, his rigor and his love of the blue jersey. We wish him good luck for the rest of his career." Henry moved into coaching after hanging up

his boots in 2014 and has also had spells with Arsenal under-19s, twice as Belgium assistant manager, and as head coach of Monaco. MORE ARSENAL STORIES _ARSENAL PRIMED TO COMPLETE THE

SIGNING OF MIKEL MERINO__, FOLLOWING LIVERPOOL WITHDRAWING FROM THE RACE TO SIGN HIS CLUBMATE, MARTIN ZUBIMENDI. __NEGOTIATIONS WITH REAL SOCIEDAD HAVE BEGUN__, WITH __AN AGREEMENT IN PLACE

WITH THE PLAYER__. ANOTHER TARGET, WOJCIECH SZCZESNY, __HAS HAD HIS CONTRACT TERMINATED AT JUVENTUS__, WHILE ALAN SHEARER HAS TIPPED ARSENAL TO BEAT MANCHESTER CITY TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

TITLE, __SO LONG AS THEY CAN MAKE ONE KEY SIGNING__._ _IN OTHER NEWS, ONE FORMER CHELSEA AND ARSENAL STAR HAS REVEALED ALL ABOUT WORKING WITH WENGER AND MOURINHO. __HE TOLD FFT, TOO, THAT

WHEN HE PLAYED WITH ARTETA, YOU COULD SEE HE WOULD DEFINITELY BE A COACH__._