There’s nothing like the combination of an injury crisis and the African Cup of Nations to force your manager’s hand in the January transfer market. Particularly if you’re manager is as prudent, cautious and reluctant to spend money as Arsene Wenger is.
That’s why the potential signing of Thierry Henry is an interesting one. Everyone has different expectations of the striker, some more realistic than others, but ultimately we are unlikely to truly know what he is capable of until he steps out into an intense and precariously poised game under the weight of crowd expectation with his former glories hovering around him like a specter.
You can watch all the MLS games you want from his last season, but in all honesty I think we can know how good Thierry will be simply from being so familiar with him. I don’t mean familiar with his footballing talents either, I mean familiar with him as a person. For example: there have been fans worrying about Henry ruining his reputation; I would agree that this crossed my mind too.
However I think we can be certain that this crossed the mind of the egocentric and ultra-image-conscious Henry before it did of anyone else. Nobody is more eager to see their reputation maintained than Henry is. He is nothing short of a deity around his old club and there is no way he would want that to change. Therefore if Henry does end up signing for Arsenal, which it seems that he will if he hasn’t already, then we must presume that Henry still believes he has got enough in his locker to still offer something at a level such as the Premier League.
I’ve heard people saying that he’s just doing it for emotional reasons, or he’s just doing it to massage his ego. That’s wrong. To accuse him of that is to underestimate the intelligence and self-awareness of a man who, although being my childhood hero, is, undeniably, extremely shrewd in his vanity.
Everyone concerned understands that he will never be the player he once was, but if Thierry still thinks that he has something left to offer Arsenal then that is good enough for me.