Form is Temporary. Class is Permanent. Thierry Henry Returns In Style
It was in a word – surreal. As if Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger conspired to contrive the whole thing. They would set to have the team pass around Leeds all day with little chances here and there that would frustrate the faithful who would then clamor for Henry to get on to the pitch. Then in a moment reminiscent of those yesteryears of glory, Henry would ride in and save us.
Seems likely doesn’t it?
It was a moment we had all dreamed of but none had dared to imagine. I know on my part I had cautiously been urging fans via twitter not to expect much that what we were getting from Henry would be more important to us in the back room than on the pitch. He still may do that but last night, well it was unreal.
Arsenal spent much of the night struggling to break down a determined. They took away the lanes and forced us to the outside of the box where are chances were largely ineffective. Prior to Henry’s goal, it looked like that Andrei Arshavin would be the best performer of the night . . . and that’s saying something. Leeds besides their defencive effort seemed intent on letting us have their way as their own attempts and passes usually found their way on to an Arsenal interception. Still, no matter how hard we tried we did not have the energy or guile to break down the visitors.
Then in a moment likely to be talked about for ages now, Thierry Henry as he was so oft to do in his previous run here, put the Gunners on his back and carried them home.
From the moment he stripped off the training gear and stood to wait to go on, the Gunners fans were salivating. Drawn 0-0 and Walcott already on for Oxlade Chamberlain it was drama at its finest. With Maraoune Chamakh proving yet again why he is one of my favorites to get more splinters in his ass than goals, it was only fitting that it would be Titi who replaced him and would lead the line.
And for the first 10 minutes leading up to the goal Henry looked more the field general and player coach then he did striker. He was directing traffic trying to get other players to see Theo on the flank and directing the passing the final third. He was the leader but this time in a different way.
With Theo and Titi on the pitch the speed we had been lacking we suddenly had and the game opened up. It also opened up because with 20 minutes to go, Leeds sniffed they had a chance to snatch something from the Emirates. But it was in that moment with the game finally opening that Andrei Arshavin found Alex Song alone in the middle and Song with his head up saw the only pass he wanted and needed to make.
Henry sat off the shoulder of the Leeds defender waiting for the right moment to release himself and he did as soon as the pass left Song’s foot. With a first touch every active Gunner should look to emulate and a finish that was trademark Henry, the Emirates exploded. If you were like me you had dared to hope something like this would happen but if you didn’t you wouldn’t have been upset because you don’t expect much from a man who has spent 18 months playing in the MLS. But oh boy! The moment it left his foot you just knew. You knew that it was going to curve and find that far side of the net.
In my opinion, Thierry Henry is probably the greatest striker to ever play the English game. Many were worried that his return might tarnish his legacy. Matt Law of the Express openly (and I say rightly so) what if Titi wasn’t any good any more. What none of us expect is that he would only build on his legacy and that he might actually be pretty good (albeit a different player).
So on this night, let’s forget that we lacked pace and urgency for much of the game. Shall we also forget that we had no creativity in the final third and noone to send that little pass that set us free. Let’s forget that even though Andrei Arshavin showed his best work effort of recent memory his shot is leaving a lot to be desired. Let’s also forget that Marouane Chamakh showed yes yet another reason why he is wasting a roster spot. Let us also forget that for whatever reason another fullback has gone down. With Francis Coquelin’s thigh injury we are now down to our 5th string fullback.
Let’s just forget all that for a moment and bask in this moment. In a season that has been as frustrating as it has been interesting, this moment will surely stand out. The blackberry’s iphones, cameras and anything that could snap a picture – did. Thanks to the interent the moment is enshrined in places like youtube for all to see. For my part this game as well as our win over Barcelona last season gets the honour of staying permanently saved on my DVR.
For Arsenal its off to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Aston Villa will come in to the Emirates for that tie.
If you’d like to see videos of all three key moments of Henry’s return – go to our forums here:
https://youaremyarsenal.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=41
Until next time. . . Stay Goonerish!!!
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