Patience, persistence, and a little pain, pays off

When the loan deal for Thierry Henry was announced, there was a lot of discussion about whether or not he would harm his legacy at the club. The key train of thought was that if it went poorly then the lasting image in some people’s mind would be of the failed loan project. I think it’s safe to say that the loan and return of Henry has been an unequivocal success.

The header to seal the late victory was written in the cards. Coming on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henry offered more guile then the youngster knows – right now. Henry has years of experience to call on and while a step slower, still knows how to put himself into position to do the right thing when a chance is presented.

With Arshavin showing his first effective 15 minutes of the year, Henry latched on to a sublime shot that had so much emphasis on it. It emphasized that Henry still has it. It emphasized that Arsenal were not going to go lightly into the night. And it emphasized that Henry will forever be a legend in our hearts and minds.

The departure of Henry in 2007 was acrimonious at best. That last season was beset with injuries and for the most part it looked like he was disinterested. His form was erratic and I remember in December he was given rest. The official reason was that he had played so much but there were some of us that thought there was more to it. When the end came, it was mixed feelings because of the way the last season went.  I know a few Gooners who still haven’t forgiven Henry for saying he was a gooner for life and then essentially going.

But what Henry performed here in these 6 weeks may have done what he did not do in 2007. He said goodbye and thank you in a way befitting his stature as a legend of this team and of the game. He not only added leadership, but he added goals in the net, two of which were crucial to the club he yearns to have a role at later in the years.  If Henry never comes back as a player we will be left now with images of pure joy, respect and the adulation of the best player to ever grace the Red & White and in my opinion the best forward the Premier League ever knew.

About the Game.

The game that developed yesterday was a little shocking to me in the aspect that Sunderland, the league’s in form team ( 22 points from 30 going into yesterday), literally put 10 men behind the ball for most of the game. I know that ‘smaller’ teams tend to do this but Sunderland isn’t really a ‘smaller’ team. They’ve claimed some big scalps at home but for the most part they preferred to sit back, let Arsenal have the ball and try and counter.

With the exception of five furious minutes of corners, bad shots and Szczesny wonder saves Arsenal controlled the play. Sunderland left Sessegnon up top alone and for the most part the service to him was woeful.

Arsenal never seemed panicked by the the fact that they couldn’t unlock the Sunderland defence. For the most part it was as if we knew at some point Sunderland would go seeking to try and snatch something from their effort. This would open up the game and we would have our space.

Give credit to Sunderland they were determined and when they were given their chances they took them and when Per Mertesacker dropped to the ground lumped in a heap, you just knew McLean would latch on to one. And he rifled the chance he got. With a shot like that it is evident why a lot of pundits and fans are high on the kid.

As much as I wanted to be mad for conceding the goal, I was more concerned for the Big ‘Fing’ German (BFG). Up until that point he was having one of his best games at Arsenal. He won ever header, got the ball and for the big man without much speed he was able to marauder forward.  I was stunned. What I really liked about his game was how every header he won was controlled and directed to an Arsenal player and from the looks of it he barely ever directed the ball to an opposition player.

But that pitch was an absolute disgrace and when I saw how much was churning under the player’s feet I knew that it would claim a victim. Admittedly, I was more worried about the thin ankles of Walcott & Van Perise than the BFG. But late in the second half he went to collect a routine ball and on the  crossover looked to get his ankle stuck in one of thousands of divots in the ground. The way he pulled up you knew it wasn’t good. Mertesacker reportedly left Wearside on crutches and will have a scan this week to determine extent of the injury. Initial word is that it is ankle ligament damage. If true, given our luck its probably safe bet the German will miss out on the rest of the season and possibly Euro 2012.

Up 1-0, Sunderland sat back and looked to let Arsenal go at them. I’ve never been a fan of this. It works at times but at other times there is just too much of opportunity for mistakes to happen. I’ve always been a proponent of attack as defence. Sunderland were letting Arsenal have too much of the ball at 1 up. Additionally, most of Sunderland’s passes were so poor that Arsenal were able to get better field position and play deep in the Sunderland end.

It was in one such moments of play that Arsenal got the equalizer and forced the game even more open. Starting with Rosicky collecting down the left and passing to a wide open Song in the middle of the pitch, Arteta gets the ball from the Cameroonian who is then able to pass to Robin deep in the 18 yard box. Van Persiee isn’t given much credit for his strength in the box but he is so good at getting the space he needs. He effectively holds off the defender to get the ball back to Arteta who takes one of his his patent rifle shots. It didn’t make it through but the rebound settles nicely to Aaron Ramsey who  gets a shot on goal far from Mignolet’s arms. And in what can only best be described as karmaic luck, the ball clatters off both posts to equalize. Game on.

Then came the moment that couldn’t have been scripted any better. Andrei Arshavin came on late for Theo Walcott and from the get go showed more sense of purpose than he had in any game he had featuredthis season. In the moments he had the ball he attacked the defenders and looked dangerous (I think he read my scathing article on him.). In his last attack he took on two defenders crossed a sublime shot in  that would find the waiting foot of Henry. In fairness I wasn’t confident that the cross would find anyone.

But boy did it ever. With Henry attacking the box (please show that to all the Arsenal forwards) the lob coming down was not attacked by Mignolet. With two defenders on him Henry rose and got a foot on the ball to slot it past the Sunderland keeper. Seriously, it was meant to be this way. It had to be. In his last league performance of the loan, for the team he loves Henry helps put them back into 4th place.

It was a goal that could have implications for the next few weeks. If the 4-4 capitulation at St. James last season was the start of our gradual slide into the abyss then maybe just maybe this hard fought win will result in a string of games that solidifies our position back in the top four.

In the end it was a good weekend for us. Chelsea were absolutely dominated by Everton and have far more concerns than we do. Newcastle basically never got off the team bus and Liverpool would rather make statements about their player’s innocence then play football. By the end of the day Arsenal were drawn even on points and goal differential with Chelsea and with the win at Stamford bridge sit atop them on the table.

And I spent the day humming Oh To Be A Gooner!

So there you have it Gooners, we are off to Milan for the resumption of the Champion’s League then Saturday we journey back up the wearside to take Sunderland on in the 5th round of the FA Cup.

Until then . . . Stay Goonerish!

[donate]