San Jose Earthquakes rookie Adam Jahn admits he grew up idolising Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

Jahn wears the Quakes' No14 shirt in tribute to the French striker and inspired his team to victory over Henry's New York Red Bulls last week.

"He wasn't afraid, mentally," coach Frank Yallop told the Mercury News. "And that's important. As a player, he's good enough. It's the mental side of the game where, can you play free of any thoughts of negative stuff? We just said to him, 'Go in there and make a difference.' And he certainly did that."