Thierry Henry: Star Striker Will Boost Arsenal on and off the Pitch

It was the definition of a storybook moment.

In the 68th minute of an FA Cup match against Leeds United, Thierry Henry stepped back onto the pitch at the Emirates Stadium—the House That He Built—in an Arsenal shirt. Thousands of Gunners in the stands cheered, as did millions more at home. A tear came to Henry's eye, then a pass from Alex Song to his right foot, then a goal in the 78th minute.

Ennui? Hardly. Henry? Totally.

With that, the Gunners advanced to the next round of the FA Cup, with a home match against Aston Villa upcoming.

More importantly, though, Arsenal were energized by a familiar sight from a familiar face—a ball in the net off the boot of Thierry Henry, a man who was immortalized in bronze in North London just weeks ago. A Gunners squad that had scored two or more goals in a match just once since early December appeared refreshed and renewed by an old friend, even with but one score against the Peacocks.

Now, it'd be all too easy to get worked up about Henry's game-winner conjuring up visions of "The Invincibles," and the 226 goals he'd put through during his previous stint as a Gunner. Remember, this was against a Leeds club playing out of the Championship, and with a squad of Arsene Wenger's deepest reserves surrounding him on the pitch. 

That said, there's no denying the buzz that swept through the building when he first started warming up, not to mention the spark he brought to what had been a lifeless attack.

The question now is: What will Henry bring to his once-and-current side against the best of the best in the English Premier League? What can Gooners reasonably expect from Henry the Second during his two-month stint on loan from the New York Red Bulls?

More than just a few close-ups of his neck beard, that's for sure.

In purely football terms, Henry still has plenty of quality left in the proverbial tank. Henry has performed brilliantly during his time in MLS, at times exhibiting flashes of brilliance that hark back to his heyday at Highbury.

And it's not as though the Gunners have much depth on the attack to speak of. Beyond the world-class play of Robin van Persie up front, Arsenal have been nothing short of impotent when it comes to goal-scoring; with only Marouane Chamakh to spell him at striker, and Andrey Arshavin and youngsters Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Park Chu-Young to relieve Theo Walcott and Gervinho out wide.

Aside from serving as RVP's backup, Henry figures to spend some pitch time with the Dutch talisman, much as he did following the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp. Of course, RVP has improved significantly since then, though he'll undoubtedly welcome the return of the man from whom he learned the Arsenal Way as an early-20-something.

On a club-wide level, Henry will help teach a young squad how to win consistently, and remind those few club members who still remember the Gunners' glory days what it takes to win trophies.

That's not to say Arsenal will necessarily hoist more hardware now that Henry is back, but rather that his return will help to conjure up the feelings of joy and determination that once made the Gunners the class of the EPL, while boosting the morale of a club that has fallen well behind the giants of Manchester and (dare I say it?) Tottenham. 

It might never be as picture perfect for Henry and the Gunners as it was on Monday, but if the club can squeeze another moment of magic or two from his golden boot, then the expense of bringing Thierry back home will have been well worth it.

In fact, it already is.

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