As a Gooner, I've always had a sneaking regard for Thierry Henry.

But then there was the move to Barcelona, the infamous hand ball in the World Cup qualifier against Ireland and his complete lack of guidance as an older member of the squad during Les Bleus' fiasco in South Africa, followed by a completely "tell all, say nothing" debrief with the French president Nicolas Sarkozy (why?).

Respect well and truly lost, there was no surprise when he splashed out a mere €11 for an apartment in the Big Apple after he went Stateside to play for the New York Red Bulls

Now though he seems to have redefined OTT.

As reported in Britain's Daily Mail (sorry)  - so you know it must not only must be true, but also completely accurate - the 34-year-old has slapped in an application to remodel his ever-so-modest London pad in Hampstead.

Apparently Henry wants to knock down the 1999-built €6 million (or in local currency £7,2 million) house and replace it with something even bigger, better and more clearly suited to his needs.

That includes everything the modern-day man requires of course, such as a bar, a cinema a swimming pool and - the accessory that has tongues-a-wagging and journalists a-writing - a €300,000 mammoth aquarium running the entire height of what would become a humble four-storey home.

Yes the man is into fish - in a big way.

You can read the full details of the giant fish tank (although that seems the most inappropriate description) the 34-year old would like to install as well take a look at the plans he has submitted to the local council in the Daily Mail.

They're also available in euros in a report in Le Parisien and the weekly celebrity gossip magazine Closer (yes it has attracted the attention of the serious sectors of the media).

But it's hard for anyone of regular means surely to get past some of the financial stats that come, not only with the initial price tag, but also the estimated heating, cleaning, stocking, lighting, feeding and maintenance costs.

Yes we're talking silly figures here.

Henry's application might run into a few problems though from those considering on the council who might consider giving him the green light.

Sir Richard MacCormac is against the project. He's the man who designed the current house that Henry wants to tear down, and whose construction is described by those "in the know" apparently as "one of the finest examples of modern day architecture in the United Kingdom."

And The Twentieth Century Society, a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards, is reportedly considering slapping in a request for the building to be listed, which would effectively scupper Henry's application.

The motive behind what would appear to be the most absurd of building projects is apparently Henry's desire to maintain a "pied à terre" in London so that he has somewhere to stay when he's over from the States to visit his daughter Téa who lives with his  ex-wife Claire Merry.