Thierry Henry spared Arsenal's blushes at the Emirates, spicing up a fairly dismal game with a moment of magic as he made his second debut with the club as a substitute against the once-mighty Leeds United in the third round of the FA Cup. It was a game that will by no means go down as a classic. The hosts had most of the ball but couldn't really figure out what to do with it, and the visitors were seemingly content to make error after error in defence that the Andrei Arshavin-Marouane Chamakh-Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain appeared powerless to do anything with.
Arsenal Vs. Leeds, 3rd Round FA Cup: Thierry Henry Inspires Arsenal To Win
The Gunners’ inability to put any of their chances away made for a very tense match, and Henry’s introduction in the 68th minute was no mere display of nostalgia on Arsene Wenger’s part - he needed a striker with the composure to score goals. The manager only had to wait a few minutes before his substitution paid off with the Arsenal legend deftly curling a shot past Andy Lornegan to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Henry's 227th goal for Arsenal nearly didn't stand up though. Leeds, finally free to attack without fear of going behind, started to look troubling, and the visitors had several late chances that they should probably have put away, with Wojciech Szczesny saving from Mikael Forssel at the very death to preserve the victory. The win sees the Gunners through to the fourth round, where they'll meet Aston Villa.
Oh, and since it was an Arsenal match, their ‘right back*‘got injured in the 33rd minute.
*I.e. Francis Coquillin, a reserves midfielder
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