Thierry Henry statue outside Arsenal stadium has face mask put on it by protesters

The Frenchman is the club's leading all-time goalscorer

A view of the Thierry Henry statue outside the Emirates stadium (Getty)

The Thierry Henry statue outside Arsenal's Emirates stadium has been targeted by protesters, with a mask put on the face of the idol.

However, despite fans of the Gunners becoming disgruntled by recent results, most recently their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday, it was not them to blame.

The mask was put on the statue by Greenpeace activists as part of wider protest at "dangerous" levels of air pollution.

Other statues around the capital targeted by the activists included Nelson's Column, the Oliver Cromwell statue within the grounds of Parliament and statues of Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria outside Buckingham Palace.

Eight people have been arrested.

The bust of Henry, who is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, is one of four statues outside Arsenal's Emirates stadium. There are also sculptures of former players Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp and Herbert Chapman. None of those were targeted.

Arsenal's next match is against West Brom on Thursday evening.