Henry Is Coming To Arsenal, But Is It A Step Backwards For The Gunners?

Alan Duffy

29th, December 2011

18 Comments

By Alan Duffy


Arsenal’s lack of an alternative cutting edge to Robin van Persie was once again evident in their 1-1 draw with Wolves at the Emirates on Tuesday. While the home side peppered the Wolves’ goal with shots in that game, they couldn’t find a way past Wayne Hennessey. And if Van Persie can’t score, there are precious few other players in the Gunners’ squad who can step up to the plate and deliver when needed, with Marouane Chamakh looking lost, Park Chu-Young rarely seen at all, Gervinho and Theo Walcott better at setting up chances than putting them away and Andrei Arshavin contributing little.

While the likes of Lukas Podolski have been linked with a January move to the Emirates for a reported £20million, the name of one Thierry Henry had been linked once again to Arsenal ever since his tearful appearance at the unveiling of his bronze statue outside the Arsenal stadium. And now, the loan deal looks set to happen.

It will only be a short-term deal, until the MLS season kicks it and he returns to New York in a couple of months, but the question remains – will Henry still be able to make an impact for the Gunners, or will it be another cheap-as-chips Wenger buy which will only provide his side with a temporary fix rather than the necessary big-money attacking solution?

I, for one, say go the whole hog and bring back Christopher Wreh as well.

Posted in Arsenal, Transfers & Rumours

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18 Comments

  1. celticdog says:

    Nah , cant hurt, if he’s match fit he’ll be an asset, even if it is only for a couple of months. If not, i’d have him at Celtic in a shot ! :-)

  2. Mr. Sparkle says:

    At this time it would take a lot to fix Arsenal, so why not slap a temporary solution i.e. a used-bandaid in the form of Thierry Henry. Besides, Henry would bring in revenue to the team both in shirts and ticket sales.

  3. Jay says:

    agree with celticdog, can’t hurt. He’d certainly provide a better option than Chamakh who seems to have lost the ability to play football.

  4. Danny says:

    Rather use Henry as a trainer. Too old. Let him rest now. Sell Arshavin, Squillaci, Bendtner, Chamakh(please!), Denilson, Diaby, and all dead wood and buy 2 reliable strikers now! Ar well as 2 reliable backs. If RvP walks now, and he will, what then?

  5. Dan says:

    YES. Well not so much a step backwards but a step in the wrong direction. Firstly it’s definitely a quick fix and really Wenger should be looking to buy some younger quality that can at least play until the end of the season. Secondly, in two months he is not really going to be able to have an impact, and if he flops his reputation may be ruined.

  6. thisISben says:

    Wonder what squad number he’ll get..

  7. df says:

    haha wenger looks so much carefree than he is now

  8. BallsDeep says:

    The Ego has returned. I think he’ll find it very difficult and will get battered.

  9. bucci says:

    no-one likes reheated soup..

  10. Joshua says:

    With the little that we’ve seen of Park Chu-Young, I believe that he atleast deserves a chance for some EPL playing time. He was easily one of Ligue 1’s top ten players last season and his form for the Korean National team has been fantastic.

  11. Goolie says:

    I love reheated soup. Letting it sit overnight really let’s the flavours intensify…Henry to struggle but spark occasionally.

  12. Redskywalker says:

    From a United fan, it reminds me of when we loaned Henrick Larsson.

    He was a bit of a role model while he was with us, and I remember a few of our players saying they learnt alot from his proffesional approach to the game.

    I’m sure it would be the same with Henry returning to the Emirates, I cannot see how anything bad can come from it.

    As a United fan with strong Irish blood though, I hope someone hacks him down violently when he does return.

  13. Mr Sensible says:

    No harm at all, Arsenal clearly lack leaders and experience which Henry has in abundance, he’s also a legend at the club and will give a feel good vibe to the fans.

    Despite his age he was a world class player with an incredible footballing brain and a great athlete, those 2 factors will mean he will still offer something to the team. I honestly can’t see what harm he can have on the team, like Redskywalker said it reminds me of the Larsson loan, maybe he didn’t offer much when looking at the stats but it was clear he made a difference.

  14. gtm says:

    Agreed it can’t do any harm but I have my doubts as to whether it’ll do much good either. In the medium & long term I’d love to see Titi take up a coaching role at AFC when he’s finished topping up his pension in the US.

    Wenger needs to pull his finger out & do some serious business in the transfer market next month & in the summer. Otherwise we’re looking at mid table mediocrity & wretched thursday nights in eastern europe for the forseeable future.

  15. goo says:

    i dont see how this could be a step backward. two months, thats it. to cover for two players who will be essentially gone for two months. Everyone knows Arsenal have hit a rough patch in the past year or so, but by all indications this Club is moving forward. some have said buy a young longterm solution, i find this rather ironic because not only has Wenger done that over the years(campbell, walcott, vela, bendtner, etc) he has been criticized for it! now he brings in experience to help usher in a new era and he’s still criticized! anyone who denies that the forecast for Arsenal is negative is a fool. we are the second most profitable Club in England and third in the world (behind MANU and BARCA) but unlike both these clubs and the clubs behind us we are not consistently operating with massive debts and reporting losses. in the long term WE WILL dominate world football, on the level that BARCA is and perhaps even more!

  16. yahhhsteve says:

    @thisISben

    possibly #12. it’s what he wore with the national team

  17. Marti says:

    Bound to fail, too slow, too old. Barca fired him for being off the the Liga pace. I hope the cheating fucker falls on his face.

  18. says:

    He’ll have a career ending injury in match 2 for Arsenal, leaving New York SOL

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