It was the second coming. Not even Hollywood itself could have churned out a script better than this; Thierry Henry took just ten minutes to mark his Arsenal return with the sort of clinical finish that epitomised his previous record-breaking spell at the club.
For much of the night, his new team mates made hard work of trying to beat Championship side Leeds United in the FA Cup, but while third round romance is usually reserved for the underdog, there was no disputing that, on this occasion, it had been saved for the return of the prodigal son.
Few players, if any, turn out for a club in the knowledge that their statue already stands proudly outside the ground, but such is the legendary status of Henry such a fact seems wholly appropriate.
“The feeling I had when I scored was amazing,” Henry said. “I am enjoying the club as a fan. I wasn’t before. Now I know what the guys at Chelsea, Liverpool, United feel when they score.
“I will always remember tonight. I don’t know why, but when it comes to Arsenal, something happens with me — sometimes in a bad way, but most of the way in history in a good way.”
It probably wasn’t the biggest surprise that has ever happened in football – after all, Henry had already scored 226 goals for the club. So why shouldn’t he score another when faced with lower league opposition?
His Arsenal colleague, Andrei Arshavin summed the mood up aptly, tweeting: “It was like in a fairy tale. Thierry came back, played and scored. And we won.”
A star-struck Aaron Ramsey added: “It was written for him. What a finish! #buzzing”.
With Robin Van Persie rested, and Gervinho away with the Ivory Coast on Africa Cup of Nations duty, many Gunners fans expected their hero to start. Instead, Arsene Wenger was canny in naming Henry only as a substitute.
When in the 68th minute, he stood on the side line stripped and ready for action, this time with the number 12 on his back; the Emirates erupted in to rapturous applause.
But nothing could have prepared them for what was to come next.
Alex Song picked up the ball mid-way inside the Leeds half of the pitch, and looked up to see Henry making a run into the box from the left. His precision pass picked out the Frenchman who took one touch to move the ball onto his right foot before finessing the ball past Andy Lonergan into the bottom corner of the net.
It sparked wild and jubilant celebrations, as Henry tore off in the direction of none other than Arsene Wenger to embrace the man who first brought him to English football.
Wenger said: “It was a little dream. It was the story you would tell young kids who you wanted to tell a story about football. Unfortunately it is not often like that in our game, but sometimes it happens.
