Arsenal booked their place in the 4th round of the FA Cup and, unsurprisingly, it took a goal from the returning Thierry Henry to do it.
The Gunners started with Marouane Chamakh up front, his last game before the African Cup of Nations, with Arshavin and Oxlade-Chamberlain outside him.
In terms of possession Arsenal dominated the first half without really troubling the Leeds keeper. Andrei Arshavin should have scored early on but fired a shot high, Squillaci headed just wide from an Arteta free kick and Arteta also saw an effort go not far wide, but in general we looked a bit one-paced.
There was a blow around the half hour mark when Francis Coquelin pulled up with a hamstring injury. Arsenal full back problems continue and it’ll be a 2-3 week period before we see a fully erect Coq again. He was replaced by Nico Yennaris.
The second half was immediately better. Arsenal were a lot more creative, a lot more direct, and peppered the Leeds goal with shots. Longergan saved well from Arteta and The Ox while Arshavin really tried hard to make things happen. Not much did happen, to be fair, but unlike recent games you can’t accuse the Russian of not putting in a shift tonight.
With around 20 minutes to go Arsene sent on Theo Walcott for The Ox, and then, to rapturous applause, Henry made his comeback replacing the ineffectual Chamakh. His first contribution was to be caught offside but in the 80 minute he made his mark.
He picked up a pass from Alex Song, controlled it beautifully, opened up his body and finished in typical Henry style into the far corner. It was Hollywood stuff, Henry celebrated like a man possessed, thumping his chest and embracing Arsene Wenger, and it was hard not to feel a little emotional seeing it.
He showed that at 34 he’s still got the quality and while a Negative Nancy could go off on one about how much more he did than Chamakh, or how Park still can’t get a game, let’s not spoil a moment Arsenal fans should remenber for all the right reasons.
It was a beautiful thing, be glad you’ve seen it, enjoy the win, and let’s leave it at that.
The King is Back. Long live the king.
227. And counting.
Yep, I would love it if he scores more. I still can’t believe he scored tonight. LEGEND!
Arsenal should give Thierry another statue!!
A BIGGER STATUE!!!
Va va voom
*sniffle* Perfect.
get in there you son of a bitch!!!! show them how its done!
ARSENAL 8==========> {} MANCHESTER UNITED
What have Man U got to do with an Arsenal win against Leeds?
Manchester United lost to Leeds United in a similar round of the FA Cup two years ago. Also Leeds are one of ManUtd’s “hated” rivals.
I would be lying if I said I didnt nearly just shit my pants.
The return of the King…
La la la la la la la la la la la…
Thierry Henry, Arsenals’ number twelve!!!
Still got some va va voom I see!
cannot express my love for thierry in words. what a truly great man
I teared when he scored
i jizzed AND teared
I lay on the floor and contempated life, the universe and everything in it, then I jizzed and wept tears of such sweet happiness.
That is all.
Henry is the king!
WOAH!! they should make a DVD of that goal celebration
Could that have been any better?
Awwwwwwwwwwww…
We have a good team right now… but he’s surely a class above the rest!!
Talk about efficiency. One chance, one goal. Amazing!
What a beautiful fucking evening. Thierry, we salute you.
Thierry, you utter utter LEGEND! Welcome home son!! sniff… snif…
That was like a bloke Rom Com moment… absolutely brilliant. Sure, I could go on about all the bad stuff of this match, like how it proves we need another finisher, but let’s not get all down and depressing tonight. This was like 2002, a 1-0 victory over Leeds with us absolutely fucking dominating them. They did not have a chance, and while the scoreline might flatter them, the end result is that we have our legend to thank for our progress tonight. Nothing else matters at all. Onwards and upwards, now let’s chase down those Spurs c*nts and push… Read more »
That’s IF they’re good enough for channel 5.
Appecrtiaion for this information is over 9000-thank you!
lWgGD8 bolbkgfhnbpb
gEJCQR etayxgrsnfyz
Hate to be the Negative Nancy, but Leeds a a couple of really good chances, if they had been better placed or Szcz less imperious, we would have a completely different mood on these boards.
We need our 1st team defence back and we need a “super quality” striker and attacking midfield player. I fear for the annual arsenal implosion.
PURE CLASS.
The king is back! What more can you say about the man that hasn’t been said over years. He has been an icon for the club for many years, also a fantastic ambassador for Arsenal as an ex-player and a fan. There are not many players like him left and he will always be held in high regard by our fans.
ps – sad to see Coq go stiff, then limp.
Get well soon.
I was really starting to enjoy his performance too.
It’s terrible when you think of how we will be unable to use our Coq for the next few weeks.
The mans a living legend, it’s like going back in time with that finish,. its great to say I was there to witness it. tonight is one that will live long in the memory. unbelieveable stuff.
My word…
I was there tonight, and when Henry scored it was on par with taking the lead against those scabby counts Barca. Absolutely brilliant. What concerns me a bit, is how much Henry’s debut performance emphasises the poor form of the Arshmakh.
Don’t be too harsh on the little man, I don’t think he did too bad at all this evening. As for Chamakh, Henry scoring within a few minutes must be like a huge slap in the face for him.
Kos was solid again, and The Ox looked bright and keen which was great to see.
ramsey had a hat full of chances so did arshavin (who ran the wing well but couldn’t even finish a sentence). I remember one chance ramsey had when he could have slipped henry through again for a second but decided to go it alone and he ballooned it to row Θλ. (is there a row theta lambda in the emirates?) I think ramsey wanted to prove a point about over-reliance but he failed. As for chamack…only a good run in the ACN and some time to reflect on his movement can only do him good. P.s. alex song assist again,… Read more »
Me too – a definite ‘I was there moment’! The man’s still got the touch, but you can see why Wenger didn’t start him, he was knackered after 10 mins & a goal celebration!
Just imagine if he scores 3 more for us during the loan.. We’ll have to keep him!!
pps – thought Arshavin played well tonight and with a little more confidence probably would’ve scored a couple.
Also how many handballs were there this evening. Is there a new FA rule- star jumps and volleyball returns are permitted against Arsenal? Arshavin given a rough time. too
He got kicked up and down the pitch… then gets a yellow on like his first foul
Typical referee performance against the arsenal, if arsenal was fouling as much as the leeds players we would have had at 6 yellow cards and 1 sending off. I thought Arteta was going to lose his composure at one point
What a goal!!!! He is a true legend. I’M definitely gonna go watch some of his games when he returns to states. No flicking way I retreat getting off work early. Wow wow wow. Watch out spur**&.
Ah man, I was cumming buckets when that one went in!
COME ON FERGUSON ..lets see what u got…play rio againnst henry – van persie…come on!!!!!!!
I’ll be honest. I haven’t been an Arsenal fan long enough to have seen Thierry wear the number 14 shirt for us so when I heard he might return I really wanted to see it so badly. I had only been able to see the legend in action for us in youtube clips. Now I am so happy to have seen him in action for us and scoring the winner for us. I’ll have real memories of him being a meaningful part of the team.
Class is permanent.
Sabrina, when did you start supporting the Arsenal? And why?
Please restrict your answer to no more than 2000 words and have it on our desk by Tuesday morning.
(Um, and welcome. You’re going to like it here.)
I’ll give you the short version. Well I started supporting Arsenal at the beginning of last season. I had watched the world cup and fell in love with the game. When the season started I looked for a team to support and I came across Arsenal. Everything about Arsenal seemed so cool and classy. I liked several things about Arsenal right away. The kits first of all. The red and white sleeves looked so good, not plain like some other team’s kits and not too busy either (I don’t like stripes.) Then the name “Arsenal” there was no other team… Read more »
Fair enough. Welcome aboard. Remember – you’re not really a fan of any football club until you’ve hugged a strange, moist man in the pub after seeing your team slot home the winner. That moment happened for me many years ago. I still haven’t dried off.
It’s on my list. Haha
At least you’re honest and seem to have joined at our weakest point (although we still have cl football, in the fa cup and not mathematically out of the title race), so you can’t be a glory supporter. I started suppoting them properly at the start of the George Graham era, Dad was from London and it was that time in school when boys pick a team to support. The Wenger era is definitely a step up in terms of quality (no matter what Fatgooner thinks but it’s opinion). Plus you had the greatest techincal footballer around gracing the pitch… Read more »
The “hugging a strange, moist man” moment happened to me when I was 11. Possibly a bit too young (I don’t remember how old the guy was, just that he was large), but then Ian Wright had just scored his record-breaking 179th goal for Arsenal, and there was joy unconfined throughout the North Bank. That’s one of my best memories of Highbury.
As I was sitting there in the crowd I wondered if I will ever feel the same love as Titi….
How did Nasri get to his seat alive?
They dressed him up as a man the prick
I never cease to be amazed at the planning that went into the Grove.
Turns out we have cunt seating. Who the hell worked out that would be needed and designed it in?
thats because frimpong was at wolves
Just look at bank balance, that should keep you happy!
moneybags came for a lesson in what it means too truly love a club and that football is about more than just money
and 24mil for a player that had half a good season isnt a bad deal glad to see him gone!
I almost cried, merci pout tout Henry.
I thought I was the only one. I literally held back the tears! Oh, what a moment of sweet sweet elation! I love Thierry Henry!!!
LEGEND, LEGEND, LEDGEND
Tonight beautifully demonstrated just what we’ve been missing all season: someone who can finish like that.
Are you watching Gervinho? Chamakh? Walcott?
FG – we have been treated to a fucking phenomenal finisher all season, lest you forget 😉
But not like THAT! That was just so smooth – it was pure class!
Park Chu-Young scored a goal like that against Bolton – http://youtu.be/z61H0ffFkBI
Forgot to add that it’s at 3:22 on the video
yeah Steve, i thought of Park’s one some time after Henry had scored. Maybe Wenger doesn’t think Park overall game can withstand the pressure of game here. Lets face it, if Park ends up having a Chamack like performance then the fans will turn against him.
It was magic – agreed Theo should learn as much as he can
The ox might teach him a thing or two
I felt Chamberlain tried too hard tonight. Compared to his previous appearances he kept trying to force it. A number of times his final ball went awry or when we went to shoot he couldn’t get the ball out of his feet. Rather than taking a touch first away, he tried to turn the defender only to get tackled or trip over the ball. Definitely one for the future but i think it showed why Wenger doesn’t think he’s ready for consistent games against pl opposition. Walcott came on at the perfect time though, against tired defenders when his pace… Read more »
Well, then I guess it’s a good thing our manager had the sort of relationship with his ex players where they want to come and play for him, no? And I guess it’s a good thing Wenger was smart enough to see that Henri could still contribute something, no? And I guess it’s also a good thing that he’s found a way to win with nearly all his fullbacks out. Probably because he is a keen judge of talent and Miquel and Yenaris stepped right in, no? I’m pretty sure everyone in the world knows we need a striker. It… Read more »
Amazing man with great passion and affection for the club. Can’t forget that goal against the sp%%&. Goal to goal….. Just happy to see him again in red and white
That was always going to happen, class. Pleased he has an early goal under his belt. No one has mentioned Miguel, I thought he had a very solid game and got forward also, looks one for the future. Chamberlan has got to start ahead of Walcott in my opinion, always looking to take someone on and has a fiece shot. Cant remember Walcott touching the ball when he came on. Welcome home Henry
“Miquel” You don’t happen to be an announcer?
welcome blogs
Welcome back, King.
That Goal celebration brought me to tears
I actually yelped like a little girl when the king scored. Still smiling. TH14/12. LEGEND.
Van Persie who? LONG LIVE THE KING
*on a minor note it was disappointing to see the Coq pullout*
I would love to discuss the game, but I have some walls to clean. It was like a helicopter flying through a yogurt cloud when that goal went in.
That comment is fucking hilarious! Top drawer my friend.
our season has begun
yea im going to be quite honest… when i saw him skipping towards the corner flag and seen the emotion he had on his face and then went to hug Arsene then beat on the crest like he was King Kong!! I got a little teary! The whole team is buzzing! GTID! COYG! Long Live The King!
Thumbs up if you decided you were not going to finish reading the above
bollox, why was the comment deleted? it was golden.
THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY THIERRY HENRY
The King is home!
THE KING IS BACK!
The king showing Chamakh how to do it. Did more in 10 mins than Chamakh did the whole time he played
Classic Henry
Caught offside, Gallic shrug, nonchalant stroke to the far post, caveman chest beating!
Wonderful
So much love for this man. It hurt so much when he left for Barca, you just knew how much this club meant to him.
On another note, why the hell was Nasri in the stadium if I’d seen him I would have had a few choice words.
I would finally like to ask, what the hell was the Park signing for? I mean really? He can’t even get in the reserves!
usual class
I wonder if Nasri celebrated The Kings goal??
Legend, now my son knows why I never stopped talking about titi,he’s seen it for himself, you could see the love he has for the club and wenger, take note na£ri while you fucking rot at city, henry you legend