The word 'legend' is often used to describe players who clubs supporters have become particularly fond of. Personally, I think it is overused. How else could you then describe someone like Thierry Henry? This man is a true legend, not just an Arsenal legend, but a footballing one too. After all, his return was widely greeted by players and fans from all over the Premiership, just happy to see a footballing great back where he belongs, I guess.
What makes him a legend, you ask? Well, it's hard to pinpoint that exactly, but here's three main points:
1) He has now scored 229 goals in 376 games for Arsenal (incl sub apps)
2) His ability to lift the crowd and the spirit inside the ground, his very presence has excited the fans ever since he scored an impressive 26 goals in his first season.
3) His tireless effort game in, game out. He won't score or even play well every game, but one thing you can always bet your house on is that he will put 100% in.
I shan't go on, you get the idea. For those that missed it, shame on you, but here's a brief summary of the game:
The first half produced little chances from either side, and what else can you expect when the home side puts every man they've got behind the ball? To say they parked the bus would be a massive understatement; but credit to them they defended extremely well given the 120 minutes they had played on Wednesday. There were a few half chances; most notably Robin van Persie's quick fire shot to Mignolet's left hand side which produced a decent save.
There was a slight change of tactic for the home side after the break; they decided to get out of their own half to somewhere vaguely near the Arsenal goal. This clearly worked for them as they started putting pressure on the Arsenal defence, forcing a couple of top quality saves from Woj, who, once again, put in a solid performance. It looked very much to be a game in which the first goal would be the decisive one, and for the opening 20 minutes of the second half this looked as though it would be Sunderland.
This goal came in the 70th minute, and it couldn't have been much more unfortunate. Mertesacker was passed back the ball, and with James McClean running towards him (but a fair distance away) he collapsed into a heap on the floor. McClean then grabbed the ball, ran it into the box, and hit a sweet shot the Sczcesny's far corner. A good finish, one might question though whether it was very sportsmanlike to play on, and if he didn't realise that Merte was injured, then maybe his team should have done something about it afterwards. It appears I stand alone with this view, so we'll let that one go. Let's hope, by the way, that Mertesacker recovers quickly from what looks to be an ankle ligaments problem- he will be sorely missed.
Arsenal teams in years gone by might have given up at this point. Fortunately, they showed their spirit, grit and desire to win the game shortly after Mertesacker was replaced by Aaron Ramsey. With one of his first touches, his shot cannoned off both posts before finally crossing the line. That was perhaps the bit of fortune we needed in a game which we had fallen behind in such desperately unlucky circumstances.
This game was now up for grabs, and the momentum was with us. However, both teams were creating chances in the final 10 minutes, and it appeared it would be a frustrating afternoon after all. However, in the 91st minute, Andrei Arshavin plucked a fine cross into the centre of the box, where one Thierry Henry was lurking, and sure enough he poked the ball past the keeper to give us a vital three points.
Deserved? Maybe not, but these are exactly the kind of games we need to be winning, where we need to make our own luck, and show the real desire to win the game. It's that sense of urgency to get the goals that we've been lacking, and that's what Thierry brought to the team yesterday. In some ways, a more pleasing win than last week against Blackburn, but we mustn't dwell on this for too long.
With Milan away on Wednesday, and Sunderland away again next weekend (FA Cup 5th round) we cannot afford slipups. We are more than capable of taking a result back from Italy, and as we've showed we can beat Sunderland, so no excuses. We should have Gibbs playing on Wednesday if Arsene thinks he's fit enough, but no Mertesacker. This will be Thierry's last ever game for Arsenal (surely!?) so he will be desperate to make a difference, what we wouldn't give to have him come off the bench to score again on Wednesday.
After all, '230 goals' does sound a lot nicer than '229', doesn't it?
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