Henry faces Van Persie in last 16 of World Cup of Premier League greats

When it comes to scoring goals, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie were two of the best that the Premier League has seen.

The pair were team-mates at Arsenal, but they now go head-head in the last 16 of the Mirror Football World Cup of Premier League greats.

Both forwards consistently found the net during their spells in North London and continued that trend at future clubs, with Henry moving to Barcelona and Van Persie excelling at Manchester United.

But which Gunners goalscorer deserves to take the bragging rights and advance to the quarter-finals?

Read on for a little more on both players, then cast your vote at the bottom of the page.

We’ll announce the winner at 10pm tonight.

Thierry Henry

Widely considered English football’s greatest import, Henry scored 174 times in 254 top-flight games for Arsenal between 1999 and 2007 before leaving for Spain.

He added a further four appearances and one goal to his league tally while on loan from New York Red Bulls later in his career, but it was his first spell in North London that cemented him as great of the competition.

A starring member of the 2003/04 Invincibles, Henry won two league titles with the Gunners as well as two FA Cup trophies.

The Frenchman’s list of individual accolades is just as impressive, with four Golden Boots and two Player of the Season awards to go alongside a number of classy goals.

Robin van Persie

The Dutchman took over from Henry as Arsenal’s main striker following the Frenchman’s departure in 2007 and went on to establish himself as one of most prolific goalscorers in the English top flight.

Van Persie scored 30 goals for the Gunners during the 2011/12 campaign to finish as the league’s top scorer before making the move to Manchester United that summer.

He added another Golden Boot award as well as a Premier League winners’ medal during his first season at Old Trafford, with his goals proving crucial in delivering the Red Devils the title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season as manager.

Despite suffering his fair share of injury setbacks, Van Persie still managed to find the net an impressive 144 times in 280 appearances in the competition.