Arsenal legend Thierry Henry celebrated his 38th birthday on Monday.
He still maintains a close relationship with the club and its players, and midfielder Francis Coquelin is one of them.
Coquelin has revealed how Henry made French people support Arsenal during his Premier League heyday.
He told Arsenal Player: "When I was nine or 10, at Christmas I got the Arsenal shirt with my name on the back. It was because there were a lot of French players there, and Thierry was one of them.
"Even the people back in France who didn't watch the Premier League back in the day - it is quite famous now - supported Arsenal because of the French core they had and Thierry was one of, if not the best player. So he made French people follow the club.
"When I first saw him, it was like the feeling when I first came to Arsenal and saw all the big players here, it was something special. But I soon realised he is really straightforward and he'll talk to you and give you advice.
"It is nice to see that a star like him can be straightforward and you can talk to him and he'll give you advice like that. I text him now, and have a laugh when I see him - if you had told me that 15 years ago I would have said, 'Yeah alright!'"
