Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United - The King is Back
January 10th 2012 16:00
When Arsene Wenger announced that Thierry Henry would play a part in Monday night's FA Cup tie, it created a real buzz amongst fans, knowing that they would see their king in the red and white once again. That's something that most Arsenal fans, and Thierry as well, never thought would happen again.
As expected, Henry started the game on the bench. The fans inside the ground, young and old, were excited to see the star man, the man a lot of the people were at the game for. They knew he'd come on eventually, Wenger said he would play a part. The question was, would he come on and be the hero, or would he come on with the job done, and Arsenal's place in the 4th round of the Cup secured?.
The first half was a pretty dull one, with not much too much to get the crowd going. This was evident, as even Jack Wilshere, Arsenal's injured midfielder, was spotted yawning on the television cameras. Sebastian Squillaci headed wide, and stand in captain Mikel Arteta drilled a shot just wide of Lonergan's post, those two efforts the closest we came to seeing a goal in the first half.
The only other thing of note from the first half was that Arsenal's injury woes continued, particularly in the full back position, as Francis Coquelin hobbled off with a hamstring injury that will see him out for "a few weeks" according to Arsene Wenger. Surely now, Wenger will have to bring some full back cover in, even if on a short term basis like he has stated in the press. On a side note, Coquelin signed a new long-term contract with the club today, which is good news, as Coquelin has looked very good whenever called upon this season.
Arsenal increased the pressure on the Leeds defence in the second half, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain having 2 good efforts come close to breaking Leeds' resilience.
Something needed to change if Arsenal were going to break down the Leeds defence. That change came in the 68th minute, with the arrival of the man everyone paid the admission fee for. When he was warming up, all you could hear were chants of his name. Yes, Thierry Henry was coming on for Arsenal. Accompanied by the man that now wears his old number 14 shirt, Henry and Walcott came on in place of the disappointing Marouane Chamakh and the impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The roar from the crowd was absolutely incredible, the fans had been lifted by the return of Henry. Henry and Wenger both warned fans not to expect him to be the player he was 10 years ago, and not to expect him to be a hero. But that didn't stop any of the excitement from the Arsenal crowd, they were there to see Henry's second debut at the club, and more importantly, to see Arsenal win.
So, the King was on, but work needed to be done. Arsenal weren't finding this as easy as some may have thought it would be. Leeds were 20 minutes or so away from taking Arsenal to a replay at Elland Road for the second consecutive year. With Robin Van Persie being given the night off, somebody had to step up. Chamakh clearly couldn't, so Wenger's answer?. Henry. It took the Frenchman just 10 minutes to find the net. When Alex Song played a lovely ball through to him, Henry was in the clear. He'd beaten his marker, and the rest was simple. Arsenal fans have seen him in that position so often, that it was almost inevitable that he would slide his shot and into the far corner of the net.
The goal sparked pandemonium in the stands. For a stadium and fan base that is often accused of not making enough noise, the Arsenal faithful were in full voice on this particular night. Henry ran away, beating his chest in celebration, before finding the man that made this all possible once again. Henry and Wenger embraced each other on the sidelines, as everyone, including goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny came to celebrate with Henry and their manager. It was a beautiful moment, and the Emirates hasn't seen too many much better than that since it's opening in 2006. I'd say Barcelona at home last season would top the list, but not much else topped that.
Thierry Henry made the difference in this game. He made this a game to remember, and if he doesn't do anything else in his 2 month loan spell, he'll still have given himself, his manager and his adoring fans, 1 last thing to remember him by in Arsenal colours. This being goal number 227 in the red and white, Henry has added to his goal record at the club.
Without Henry, this game would have been a boring 0-0, and we'd be talking about what a pain it is that Arsenal have to play a replay, adding to an already congested fixture list. So rightly, he won man of the match. Something that Henry himself found ludicrous, having been on the pitch for just over 20 minutes. Rumour had it that Arsenal fans were voting for Henry as ESPN's man of the match before he even stepped on the pitch, which tells you everything you need to know about the relationship between this particular player and his club's fans. Henry also took an astonishing 70% of the fans vote on the official Arsenal website, proving once and for all that the King is back, and back with a bang.
Arsenal face Aston Villa at home in Round 4 of the FA Cup, and I for one, hope that Henry can add to his heroics of last night, whether it be in that game, or in any of the games he features in before returning to the States to prepare for the MLS season with the New York Red Bulls.
Link: For those who haven't seen it, the moment Henry made the Emirates go wild.
As expected, Henry started the game on the bench. The fans inside the ground, young and old, were excited to see the star man, the man a lot of the people were at the game for. They knew he'd come on eventually, Wenger said he would play a part. The question was, would he come on and be the hero, or would he come on with the job done, and Arsenal's place in the 4th round of the Cup secured?.
The first half was a pretty dull one, with not much too much to get the crowd going. This was evident, as even Jack Wilshere, Arsenal's injured midfielder, was spotted yawning on the television cameras. Sebastian Squillaci headed wide, and stand in captain Mikel Arteta drilled a shot just wide of Lonergan's post, those two efforts the closest we came to seeing a goal in the first half.
The only other thing of note from the first half was that Arsenal's injury woes continued, particularly in the full back position, as Francis Coquelin hobbled off with a hamstring injury that will see him out for "a few weeks" according to Arsene Wenger. Surely now, Wenger will have to bring some full back cover in, even if on a short term basis like he has stated in the press. On a side note, Coquelin signed a new long-term contract with the club today, which is good news, as Coquelin has looked very good whenever called upon this season.
Arsenal increased the pressure on the Leeds defence in the second half, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain having 2 good efforts come close to breaking Leeds' resilience.
Something needed to change if Arsenal were going to break down the Leeds defence. That change came in the 68th minute, with the arrival of the man everyone paid the admission fee for. When he was warming up, all you could hear were chants of his name. Yes, Thierry Henry was coming on for Arsenal. Accompanied by the man that now wears his old number 14 shirt, Henry and Walcott came on in place of the disappointing Marouane Chamakh and the impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The roar from the crowd was absolutely incredible, the fans had been lifted by the return of Henry. Henry and Wenger both warned fans not to expect him to be the player he was 10 years ago, and not to expect him to be a hero. But that didn't stop any of the excitement from the Arsenal crowd, they were there to see Henry's second debut at the club, and more importantly, to see Arsenal win.
So, the King was on, but work needed to be done. Arsenal weren't finding this as easy as some may have thought it would be. Leeds were 20 minutes or so away from taking Arsenal to a replay at Elland Road for the second consecutive year. With Robin Van Persie being given the night off, somebody had to step up. Chamakh clearly couldn't, so Wenger's answer?. Henry. It took the Frenchman just 10 minutes to find the net. When Alex Song played a lovely ball through to him, Henry was in the clear. He'd beaten his marker, and the rest was simple. Arsenal fans have seen him in that position so often, that it was almost inevitable that he would slide his shot and into the far corner of the net.
The goal sparked pandemonium in the stands. For a stadium and fan base that is often accused of not making enough noise, the Arsenal faithful were in full voice on this particular night. Henry ran away, beating his chest in celebration, before finding the man that made this all possible once again. Henry and Wenger embraced each other on the sidelines, as everyone, including goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny came to celebrate with Henry and their manager. It was a beautiful moment, and the Emirates hasn't seen too many much better than that since it's opening in 2006. I'd say Barcelona at home last season would top the list, but not much else topped that.
Winner: Henry nets his 227th in Arsenal colours
Embrace: Henry goes over to hug his manager after scoring the winner
Thierry Henry made the difference in this game. He made this a game to remember, and if he doesn't do anything else in his 2 month loan spell, he'll still have given himself, his manager and his adoring fans, 1 last thing to remember him by in Arsenal colours. This being goal number 227 in the red and white, Henry has added to his goal record at the club.
Without Henry, this game would have been a boring 0-0, and we'd be talking about what a pain it is that Arsenal have to play a replay, adding to an already congested fixture list. So rightly, he won man of the match. Something that Henry himself found ludicrous, having been on the pitch for just over 20 minutes. Rumour had it that Arsenal fans were voting for Henry as ESPN's man of the match before he even stepped on the pitch, which tells you everything you need to know about the relationship between this particular player and his club's fans. Henry also took an astonishing 70% of the fans vote on the official Arsenal website, proving once and for all that the King is back, and back with a bang.
King: Henry
Arsenal face Aston Villa at home in Round 4 of the FA Cup, and I for one, hope that Henry can add to his heroics of last night, whether it be in that game, or in any of the games he features in before returning to the States to prepare for the MLS season with the New York Red Bulls.
Time to Celebrate: Henry celebrates at the full time whistle
Link: For those who haven't seen it, the moment Henry made the Emirates go wild.
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