Henry scores a hat trick as Arsenal bid an emotional farewell to Highbury

Henry scores a hat trick as Arsenal bid an emotional farewell to Highbury

	Published : Mon, 08 May 2006 15:55 By : James Rowe Print this Story

LONDON - Arsenal bid a fitting farewell to Highbury after 93 years as they beat Wigan 4-2 to clinch the fourth spot ahead of Tottenham who lost 1-2 to West Ham. Thierry Henry made sure that the Arsenal faithful would have fond memories of their beloved ground as he scored a memorable hat trick. Next season Arsenal move to Ashburton Grove, while Highbury will be converted into penthouses and apartments.

It was a tense finale and Arsene Wenger admitted later that the team would have felt guilty had they lost or drawn in the last match. Robert Pires gave the Gunners an excellent start when he scored within 8 minutes, but Paul Scharner restored parity within two minutes. And when David Thompson converted a free kick on 33 minutes there was stunned silence at Highbury. However, skipper Henry rose to the occasion and equalized before half time. Henry later put the match beyond Wigan with two more spectacular goal, the last through a penalty, after which he symbolically knelt down and kissed the Highbury turf.

Arsene Wenger hoped that Henry would stay on after leading them into the Champions League. “I feel this team is growing exceptionally well. For the history of this club and this building, I feel very proud to finish on a high. We would have all felt guilty to walk out on a low," he said. "Wigan gave us a hard time and we had to deal with nerves. We went into the last week knowing less than nine points gave us no chance. We did it in a fantastic manner, scoring ten goals.”

Wigan boss Paul Jewell said he was happy with his players' performance, "I'm proud of my team's achievement and I'm proud of the club," he said. Henry was delighted at the way the team performed, "We are fourth in the league and the table does not lie after 38 games, so we deserve to be in this position," he said. "It was a kiss goodbye to the stadium. Everyone knows we won't play here any more. We are not in the Champions League yet. We have to play the qualifying round (unless we win the final)."