Sport
Thierry Henry celebrates return to Arsenal by scores winning goal
After running around the perimeter of the pitch with his arms outstretched past delirious supporters, Henry hugged Wenger, his long-time mentor, near the dugout. His teammates soon smothered him. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny raced the length of the pitch to join the hoopla.
A grinning David Beckham, sitting in a corporate box high up in the stadium with his children, watched on as Henry slapped the Arsenal badge on his shirt.
“Thierry Henry pureclass” tweeted Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion.
It just needed Henry to slide on his knees, mimicking the bronze statue that is outside the ground immortalizing France’s record goalscorer, and it could have been 2004 all over again.
Some wondered whether Henry might damage his legacy at Arsenal by making a brief return to the club he scored a record 226 goals for in an electric eight-year spell between 1999-2007.
Age has stripped Henry of the pace and raw power that marked him out as one of the world’s greatest players but the desire and intelligence is still there.
“He was already a legend here and he has added a bit more to his story,” said Wenger, who will praying for more of the same over the next six weeks before Henry returns to New York.
Having clinched his loan move on Friday, Henry was named on the bench to kick off his second coming but by the start of the second half, the crowd was fiercely chanting his name.
