Wenger believes Henry will return to Arsenal one day

Arsene Wenger believes Thierry Henry will "certainly" return to Arsenal one day.

The Frenchman left New York Red Bulls following their elimination from the MLS playoffs on Saturday, with his future unknown at this stage.

Bordeaux manager Willy Sagnol has already offered his former France team-mate a place among his coaching staff should he retire from playing while a role in the media remains an option.

But Wenger believes the 37-year-old will have a role in north London at some point in the future but said he must consider what part he wants to play.

"What I understand is that he wants to reflect for a while on how he wants to go into his next life,” the Arsenal manager is quoted as saying by the club's official website.

“The only thing I would like to say is that I gave him his start at the age of 17 at Monaco, today he is 37 so he had 20 years of competitive football and that deserves high respect and congratulations. Not only for what he achieved but also for his attitude, his exemplarity and his focus on football.

“He has the right to reflect and think of what he wants to do now. He is an Arsenal man - the best moments of his life and career have been experienced here.

"Certainly one day he will come back here. In what role I don’t know, that is what he has to think about: what direction he wants to give to his next life.

“He has all the qualities [to be a coach] because he is intelligent, committed, he loves the game. He just has to think: 'Do I want to sacrifice all the rest of my life to be involved in that job?'”

However, Wenger does not believe that Henry would want to return to the Premier League as a player, having enjoyed a loan spell at the Emirates in 2011-12.

"I don't think he wants to do that again. He has given a lot, he has come out with an image that is fantastic. I'm not sure that he wants to play again in the Premier League."