Arsenal Transfer News: FA Cup Is Perfect Setting for Thierry Henry

Arsenal's FA Cup match against Leeds United on Monday is the perfect setting for Gunners legend Thierry Henry to return in, but the club has a Friday deadline to finalize his transfer from the New York Red Bulls if he is to be eligible for the match.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will not want to throw Henry into the Premier League fire, since he has not played in a real match since the Red Bulls' MLS season ended two months ago. He may, however, have no choice if Henry's deal cannot be completed by Friday at noon.

Henry is still capable of being a reliable attacking player in English football, but he won't be effective until he gets at least a match or two under his belt.

The Premier League is certainly a different environment from the MLS, and even though Henry has dominated England before, it won't be an easy transition back to the English football.

The Gunners need Henry to play an important role in the team for the duration of his two-month loan. During his return, the Gunners legend will be able to feature in several league matches, including the Jan. 22 showdown with Manchester United, as well as the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie against Serie A leaders AC Milan.

For Henry to play at his maximum potential at age 34, he needs some experience against competition that isn't on par with most of the Premier League. I am not disrespecting Leeds United; they are a good squad, but Henry would not have trouble playing well against them.

Leeds has lost three of their last four matches in the Championship, and beating a world-class squad like Arsenal would give them tremendous confidence going forward this season.

Henry's best case scenario is that his transfer is completed by Friday and he can give Wenger at least half of the Leeds game to make sure his football fitness and conditioning is where it needs to be.

Wenger must do everything he can to finalize Henry's deal, because if he is to play a big role for Arsenal during his loan, he needs to start playing against better competition than he's been used to in the MLS.

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