While they were the only two inductees, there is a shortlist of players that will be whittled down until next year’s selection. This post will go through why these two legends of the game were chosen first, and the players who could potentially join them next year. 

A player who needs no introduction, the French Phenom is a four-time Golden Boot winner, as well as an Invincible. Someone who scored game winning goals, progressive goals, and could dribble past the best defenses in the world like they weren’t even there. 

After moving from Italian giants Juventus in 1999, Henry would go on to win two Premier League trophies with the Gunners. He played a major part in their unbeaten 2003/04 title winning season. 

He was also a recipient of the Golden Boot award 4 times, and scored a club record 175 goals in 258 appearances for the club. He also scored over 20 Premier League goals in a season five times in a row. He also broke Ian Wright's goal record by scoring 185 goals in all competitions. 

Henry has also been a UNICEF ambassador for many years now, and has used his fame for many charitable causes. He has also been very outspoken about the huge racism problem in football, and uses his voice and large platform to help address social issues. 

Henry never managed to win the Ballon d’Or, being a runner-up in 2003, and third place in 2006. He won the European Golden Shoe in both the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, and was also in the FIFA World Cup All-Star team in 2006. 

He also won multiple awards during his time in Spain playing at Barcelona. He also had a successful stint playing in the MLS. He also holds a record that will never be broken by any other Arsenal player, he scored the most goals at a single ground, Highbury. 

A Newcastle Legend, Alan Shearer started his professional career at Southampton, before moving to Blackburn Rovers and becoming the footballing god we all know he was. He won the Premier League title under Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn in the 1994/95 season, and still holds one of the most incredible scoring records.

Alan Shearer is the league’s leading goalscorer, having put the ball away an incredible 260 times in 441 appearances across 14 seasons. He is also the only player to score 100 goals or more for two different Premier League clubs, Rovers and Newcastle. 

What is even more remarkable about Alan Shearer's goal scoring record, is just how far ahead he is of everyone else. Even some players that are regarded as some of the best to ever do it are miles behind him, Wayne Rooney, Andy Cole, Sergio Aguero, Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry and many, many others are 50+ goals behind him. 

While Shearer's individual achievements may not be as prolific as that of Henry, it is what he did for Newcastle and Blackburn as clubs that have made him such a legend. However, he does hold the record for the fewest games to score 100 goals, 124, as well as being Newcastle's top goalscorer in their history with 206. You can’t talk about Newcastle without talking about Shearer, and he is still praised there to this day, just like he was back when he was playing. 

The next lot of nominees have been announced as well. There are a few exceptions though, players had to have been retired before August 2020, meaning Wayne Rooney, who will definitely make it, can only be nominated and inducted in 2022. 

There are 23 shortlisted greats however that are all up to be inducted, the list of names include Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Patrick Viera, Paul Scholes, Les Ferdinand and Matt Le Tissier. Surprisingly, Ryan Giggs did not make it on to the list. 

Other fellow Arsenal players that could join Henry are Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Robin van Persie, and Sol Campbell. Manchester United legends Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand and Andy Cole, Nemanja Vidic, and Peter Schmeichal are also on the list. 

Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole make up the Chelsea representatives, while Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler are the Liverpool choices. 

Out of this 23 man shortlist, 6 players will be chosen to enter the Hall of Fame with Shearer and Henry. Hopefully players can be selected multiple times because there isn’t a single player on this list that doesn’t deserve his spot, and every one of them should have a spot in the Hall of Fame. 

At the writing of this post, the voting for the next 6 players to be inducted has closed, now we just have to wait and see who will join these two enormous legends of the game. 

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