Anger motivates Arsenal perfectionist Henry

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) Arsenal's French captain Thierry Henry will step on to home turf in tomorrow's Champions League final fuelled by the anger that has driven him since he learned to play soccer on the streets of a south Paris suburb.

Despite his relaxed, approachable manner off the pitch, on it the France striker often cuts an implacable figure, berating team mates and himself if they or he produce anything less than perfection.

It will be no different tomorrow against Barcelona at the Stade de France, a venue Henry has graced many times for France.

''When I have a grumpy face on the pitch people always wonder where it comes from,'' said the 28-year-old who was born in Ulis, 30km south of Paris.

''It's pretty simple, everything comes from my dad, the way I play, my desire, my commitment, everything. My dad always taught me to never be satisfied with what you have.

''I'm not scared of anger. You must use it to drive you on, in a positive way. Without that anger I wouldn't be the same player. So now you understand why, when I score goals, I always play everything down.

''It's the same for a boxer. If he doesn't have that anger anymore when he goes in the ring, he's dead.

''That's my philosophy. I know that might not be the philosophy of everyone but that's why I've achieved what I've achieved and why I am playing the football I'm playing right now. That is my way.'' Under the eye of father Antoine, Henry learned how to look after himself playing soccer in the street as a youngster, a fact he was keen to stress as he addressed reporters at Arsenal's lush training complex north of London.

''I think sometimes people do forget where I come from,'' he said.

''You always get aggro when you play on the streets. That's why you get tough. I always say there is no better school than the streets, it's the anger factor. You have to have that in you.

''The way I have been brought up and the way it was when I was young helped me to be what I am right now. That desire, that anger in the right way, drives me always.

''People deal with their stuff in different ways. All the time people talk about (Barcelona's) Ronaldinho smiling but I can tell you inside there are no smiles.

''When I play with family during the summer on the beach you will see the same guy, the same attitude. If I score I will take the mickey out of my dad, I will have a go at my brother. If my dad nutmegs me, I will kick him! ''It's nothing bad. I'm a happy man, trust me. It's just my way of seeing things.

''You can never reach perfection but I am trying to do it. That's the only way you can progress and get better. Trying to reach perfection will always keep you on your toes.'' EXTRA DIMENSION Tomorrow's game comes eight years after Henry sat frustrated on the substitutes' bench as France demolished Brazil 3-0 in the biggest game of all, the World Cup final.

''I was supposed to come on during the second half but then Marcel Desailly got sent off and the plan changed,'' he recalls.

''On the spur of the moment I was disappointed but afterwards when I realised I was going to lift that cup, I was 20, I'd played only six games (for France). I couldn't be that upset.'' This time he will be a central figure as Arsenal's captain, a responsibility that has not dulled his goalscoring instinct. This season Henry again finished the Premier League's top scorer with 27 goals in 32 appearances.

''He is the best striker in the world today and being captain has given him another extra dimension,'' said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. ''He has grown in stature as a player. He has matured a lot.'' Reuters DH GC1724