It was a goal perfectly reminiscent of his great days with the club. Alex Song slipped the ball through in the 78th minute and Henry, on loan from New York Red Bulls, came in from the left to slant a right-footed shot across the Leeds United goalkeeper, Andy Lonergan. The movement and finish were so typical of the scorer that the episode would have been a cliché had it not felt so exhilarating.
There are plenty of cautionary words to be uttered since Leeds are only eighth in the Championship but no one else in Arsenal's ranks had come up with the technique and poise to settle the outcome. The impact of a 34-year-old Henry cannot be taken for granted in, say, the Premier League but adrenaline flooded through this club after Arsène Wenger released him from the bench in the 68th minute.
Henry, too, will be elated after notching a 227th goal for Arsenal. Circumstances will not always be as suitable as they were here, with an admirable Leeds starting to toil after being so composed and efficient for much of the occasion. This evening, however, was a fillip for a club currently outside the top four in the Premier League and keen to ready themselves for the resumption of the Champions League.
It could be that Henry's influence will be short-lived but his presence galvanised Arsenal here. Stern judges could think it an indictment of Wenger that he had to dip into the club's past but the immediate benefit was well worth having, no matter how the forward fares in the weeks to come. The spectators had more to discuss than, for instance, their usual disappointment with, say, Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh.
This match also had a ring to it even before Henry took the field. While the true aspirations of Leeds are for an eventual re-emergence in the Premier League, the FA Cup came as a break from all that earnestness. Here was an occasion that would excite a team that also understood there was scant risk of recriminations or disgrace.
Arsenal had trouble making a breakthrough, since the visitors were obdurate in their 4-1-4-1 system. Wenger's players attacked but early in the night there was little precision in front of goal. Chamakh was in action prior to joining Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations but did not make his presence felt when collecting Aaron Ramsey's pass and sending his finish soaring over the bar in the second minute.
Though the Arsenal centre-half Sébastien Squillaci had been wasteful when heading off target from a Mikel Arteta free-kick in the second minute, Simon Grayson's team were generally composed. Their opponents had to cope with exasperation and an injured Francis Coquelin had to make way for Nico Yennaris after half an hour.
It would still have been a distortion to pretend that frustration had seeped into the Emirates, though there may have been a little wistfulness about one absentee. Robin van Persie was excused the game so that he could enjoy a family holiday in Dubai, even though the club often appears dependent on the Dutchman for goals. His name would have begun to be more prominent still in the thoughts of the Arsenal fans when there was a protracted deadlock.
There ought also to have been regard for the opposition among those in a sportsmanlike mood. Leeds were composed and there was also a wish to go on the attack, despite the fact that they had not inconvenienced the Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny at that juncture. A bid for promotion can be a treacherous task but Leeds, by the interval, would often have had the impression that, if Arsenal were any guide, the Premier League might not be so intimidating after all.
It was not for sentimental reasons that chants for Henry broke out in the opening moments of the second half. The Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did show urgency when cutting in from the right before shooting off-target in the 47th minute. Even so, it would have been unjust to write off this fixture as a non-event.
Whatever else happens, this scene, before a crowd of 59,615, should motivate Leeds all the more to persevere in the quest for Premier League status. The focus here was largely on containing the hosts.
That was being done only with difficulty as the second half developed. When Chamakh laid the ball off to Arteta in the 54th minute, the drive was saved by Lonergan. With the win achieved, there is a danger that Arsenal will forget just how they toiled. The night belonged to Henry but, if his team is to prosper, others will have to strive for the standards he has set.
Source: Kevin McCarra, The Guardian on 10 Jan 12
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