I went to the Leeds game.
It was very dull and it was 0-0 and looking like a replay.
Then Henry came on and scored. One touch, then placed it in the corner.
His trademark goal.
Nobody does it better. Nobody in the modern history of football has scored that goal so often, or so expertly.
He took one touch on Song’s pass inside the ball-watching right back, a teenager playing his third game, and stroked it low across the keeper and inside the post.
Arsenal 1 Leeds 0.
Thierry Henry, 78 minutes.
Bringing another money-spinning home game against Aston Villa in the Fourth Round. That game might sell out. This one didn’t.
It was a really weird night because it wasn’t like an FA Cup tie. Because Henry overshadowed the event, even before he came on. And he overshadowed all the other players before he had done anything. And that might prove to be very unhealthy and counter-productive.
Robin missed all the fuss about Thierry, as he’s having a week’s holiday in Dubai. Insiders say those two never got on well together.
Leeds were a clunky team of artisans intent on damage limitation.
Arsenal were sloppy at times, obvious at other times, with Arshavin missing good chances. Oxlade and Ramsey were their liveliest players but Oxlade, although inventive and enterprising, could not quite find a scoring position.
Still, the crowd love the Ox because he’s promising and brave and gives you the feeling that he can beat one man and beat another and score, so thousands of people keep shouting, “Go on, Alex!”
Everyone thinks he’ll be a good player. But at the moment he’s a good kid.
Hadn’t expected to see Chamakh, as I thought he’d gone to Africa.
I said, “If you‘d told me he was playing, I wouldn’t have come!”
It was still 0-0 when the old Superhero started to warm up and I said, “Wenger\’s told them not to score till Thierry comes on.”
At 9.03 the crowd started that silly little two-line song, “Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry” and at 9.05 Oxlade hit a thunderous shot and keeper Andy Lonergan made his first proper save of the game.
Brighton boss Gus Poyet was sitting near us with two friends. Everybody stood up when Henry and Walcott were about to come on as subs, except me and Gus.
But when everybody sat down, I saw that Henry and Walcott had not yet come onto the pitch. Those two came on moments later – and everybody except me and Gus stood up again. We had a few laughs but it wasn’t like any FA Cup tie I’ve ever attended and I’ve seen scores of FA Cup games and many Finals and semi-finals.
I’d arranged to meet my mate outside the Armoury at 7.30.
A dummy in the window was wearing the new Henry 12 shirt and I went inside to check out the merchandise and found Gunnersaurus being photographed with tiny children. Back outside, I bumped into Geoff Travis and we chatted about Knebworth, Van Morrison, Al Green, Phil Walden, Led Zeppelin, Rough Trade, Martin Mills, pilates, and our mutual friend Doug D’Arcy. And I told Geoff how our friend Stewart Joseph took my kids to the FA Cup Finals at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
“Do you read Bob Lefsetz?” I asked.
“Yes ! We’ve signed the Alabama Shakes.â€
It was by now 7.30 pm and Geoff said Cheerio, or words to that effect, and my mate arrived and we went in and got the teamsheet and saw that the Ox was starting and TH12 was on the bench.
The rest you know.
My mate said it was a dream-like evening. He reckoned this game showed how average Arsenal really are : all that huffing and puffing, and nobody could get a goal, and then the old superstar came on and scored.
Myself, I just didn’t feel as if I’d seen an FA Cup tie. It wasn’t a football experience, or anything close to a football experience. It was a love festival where thousands of adults surrendered to hero-worship and nostalgia. It was all very artificial, surreal and Pavlovian. I felt as if I’d seen the premiere of a feel-good movie about an FA Cup tie in which Bridget Jones embraced the hero at the end, while Van Morrison sang Someone Like You.