Le Professor 56 years old and the Henry experience 186 goals old!
Well it’s been a bit delayed between the last post and this one. The season’s been like that – a stop-start one that has not allowed teams or fans to get into any rhythm at all. Except for the RMF and however grudging, some credit goes to Loudmouth Mourinho for what he has done. But back to the topic of the day. We are about 50 minutes from kick off vs Man City and I have no anxieties or worries; indeed I can detect a positive swagger in myself. The King is back to lead the troops.
What a fairytale return Henry had that night against Sparta Prague? I was sorry to see Reyes getting kicked (on that the refereeing that day was a shambles) and was worried whether Henry had recovered enough t play for almost 75 minutes. But recovered he had and if physically he looked a bit under par the mental sharpness was as good as ever. Shamefully I had to admit that I missed the first goal as it happened having switched channels to watch ManU struggling against Lille for a few seconds. But when I watched the replays my mouth was open and I needed some seconds to get my breath back. More than the creativity and the beauty of the goal, what stunned me was the sheer audacity of it all. That was no 185 and we all knew that 186 would arrive duly. Arrived it did after Pires played a super ball and Henry mugged two defenders and finished coolly. Otherwise the game itself was marked by our control and the way we soaked up whatever pressure there was and kept a vital clean sheet.
Henry’ second goal and the gush of articles that followed set me thinking on my favourite Henry moment. Some of those moments are not even related to goals like when he nutmegged Danny Mills! Among the goals there are many such as the hat trick against Liverpool that won us the championship in 03/04 or the pitch length effort against the old enemy in 02/03 or No 185 or the back heel vs Charlton in 04/05. But three goals stick in my memory and show a facet of Henry that many people do not realise or (in the case of media) won’t realise. The two goals against RMF in December 2005, when the championship was still in the boil and talk was rife how Henry was apt to bottle it in big games, were both special. A rocket within minutes of the start and a cheeky free-kick proved everyone wrong and gave the players and fans a visible lift that we can compete and best the filthy rich RMF. The other special goal was against ManU in October 2000 at Highbury when Henry flicked the ball up with his back to the goal and spun and unleashed a tremendous volley above a bemused Barthez. All these goals share a Henry characteristic – when he plays like that nothing, the quality of the opposition or the situation, matters. Quintessentially Henry!
Coming to the other reason for the article today, “Many happy returns to Le Professor” and my sincere prayer that he lives long and is associated with Arsenal until his last breath. There are no adequate words to describe or say thanks to what Wenger has done for football and Arsenal. I will single out only one trait – his refusal to bow down before the unfair, unhealthy practices of other teams, be it Marseille in France or Chelsea in England. Go on, Professor, keep fighting, we are with you. As they say, “Arsene knows”.
