Theo Henry « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

By Tony Attwood

Sometimes the gods are with you.  My season ticket seat is to the right of the North Bank goal, upper tier.  A perfect panoramic view except that it means that goals at the Clock End are little bit harder to see because at the distance of about 150 yards, perspective goes, and can’t always see at once if the ball is heading into the net or back up the pitch.

But such a sacrifice is worth it if Arsenal score six up your end in the second half, and you have a perfect view of every one.

Was I nervous at 3-3?  You bet.  Was I stunned at 7-3?  Beyond doubt.

Last time we got 7 I was about as far from the action as it is possible to get – Melbourne, Australia.  This time I found myself in exactly the right place.

After the game Arsène Wenger said Theo was definitively not leaving in  January. So I should hope.   It wasn’t just that Theo was good, he was better than Thierry Henry when he first arrived at Arsenal (age 23, as I and everyone else pointed out yesterday), and I sat in the upper tier of the North Bank, Highbury, with my pal Roger and showed my deep understanding of football by demanding, “What is the point of a centre forward who plays on the left wing?”

I got it in the end, and yesterday I got it again after the 23 year old Theo was far better than anything Henry did in Year One of his reign.  Vieira apparently said in that first season that Henry couldn’t hit the clock, let alone the goal.   But Wenger (unhampered in those  days by a hyperactive AAA) carried on playing him.

Theo’s had six years under Wenger before becoming a terrific centre forward, which makes an interesting comparison.

Thierry had five years at Monaco, playing 105 times and scoring 20.  A momentary sojourn with Juventus (16 games in fact) and then he came to Arsenal and a reunion with Mr Wenger.

But here’s a fact.  The media is packed solid with people saying that Arsenal not playing Theo down the middle until now shows the stupidity and obstinacy of the manager.  Which is pretty much the same stupidity and and obstinacy that he showed with Henry I guess.  The comparison between the two is fascinating.

As for the future, Thierry Henry stayed seven seasons at Arsenal and played 254 times – and he stayed, until he was a fading star, because he loved Wenger and loved the club.   Barcelona bought him and ended up paying £250,000 a game for him – as I’ve reported so many times before that you’ll be sick of the fact by now, but I still think it shows that by and large (not always but by and large) Mr Wenger knows when it is time to let someone go.

Theo has played something over 160 games, and says he loves the club.  And so he should.  He would have shone anywhere, but probably not as brilliantly as he shone yesterday.

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The final goal which you must have seen by now, was an utter masterpiece of Henry-esque proportions and design.  OK so was the first, but the last goal showed something that I have only seen from Henry before – the utter inventiveness and originality.  99.9% of strikers would have stayed on the ground for the penalty.  Theo decided to score instead with the most outrageous chip.

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Now think of Thierry, who was of course in the stands watching the young man he is now helping.  Think of the invention of the instant free kick while the wall is still getting into position.  Think of the man with his back to goal, and two defenders harassing him, and a keeper on the line – and then he back heels it into the net.  Just think of it all.

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Think of the speed, and of playing on the left wing and scoring across the goal.  It is all there, and I have been lucky enough to watch no only Henry score and score and score, but now have seen the Mark II version.

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Theo Henry.  To the gods I give eternal thanks.

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