The return of Scholes was an act of genius, but Henry’s wasn’t

It has been discussed to death since the respective return of the Manchester United and Arsenal legends. One was a pretty low key affair, announced just hours prior to the FA Cup third round Manchester derby while the other, secured in the build-up to Arsenal’s third round encounter with Leeds United the following day. But, while Paul Scholes’ comeback didn’t grab the headlines as much as Thierry Henry’s did, it is the former who will be more of a success than the latter.

Henry completed a fairy-tale return to the Gunners, making his first appearance in over four-years and un-rivalled in the club’s goalscoring records, the Frenchman emerged from the sub’s bench to net the winner on his second debut during the 1-0 win over Leeds. The Emirates erupted into a chorus of applause and the joy on Henry and Arsene Wenger’s face was an absolute picture for all to see.

The 34-year-old admitted that every game following his return won’t result in him scoring goals, much like the one he put away against United, and any fan is adamant they would be surprised should the legendary front-man replicate the form that made him such a potent threat during his first stint in North London.

And it is herein where the initial problem arises. Henry simply isn’t the player he was when he initially left North London back in 2007. Granted, Arsenal fans aren’t expecting the striker to perform the same feats he did during his peak with the club he experienced his finest years but could they be hoping too much from the former Barcelona ace? That remains to be seen but the pressure is likely to be firmly placed on the shoulders on the striker, especially with both Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh away on international duty for the African Cup of Nations.

However, should the second coming of Arsenal’s all-time highest goalscorer prove an untimely success, and a masterstroke on Wenger’s behalf with the elegant front-man finding the net on a regular basis, the manager could well find himself in a spot of bother regarding his return. With Henry only at the Emirates until next month, if he proves an un-qualified success, the Arsenal could end up pressing for his return on a permanent basis.

Furthermore, when his loan ends, if his goals do help propel Arsenal into the top-four, it could well see the Gunners fall back down the league, especially if Robin Van Persie loses his goalscoring touch or pulls up with an injury while Gervinho and Chamakh don’t have the best goalscoring records since their arrivals in England. When Henry leaves, who is going to be there to pick up the pieces if his move is successful?

Wenger is masking a permanent problem with a temporary solution by bringing back Henry and whether he is a success or not, it could well back-fire on the Frenchman, especially with the current crop Henry is now playing with completely different from the team he was used to when he left back in 2007. Sir Alex Ferguson bringing Scholes back, on the other hand, may only be a stop-gap until the summer, but it makes a whole lot more sense than Henry’s return to Arsenal.

Scholes only retired in the summer and has been working with the current crop of players since he called it a day following the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona back in May. The 37-year-old is up to speed with the pace of the Premiership having only just retired a little over six months ago but with the United midfield slowly depleting due to injuries, his return has more than aided Ferguson in the Scot’s time of need.

Despite showing his rustiness in the 3-2 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup, the midfielder at fault for Aguero’s strike just after the hour mark, Scholes still showed his goalscoring touch during the weekends 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. His reinstatement to the Red Devils first-team, albeit until the end of the season, will not only boost Ferguson’s options in the midfield, but Scholes has the knowledge and the know how to ensure that United are certainly challenging for honours come late April/early May.

And with the Premier League stalwart available until the end of the season, Ferguson will have the talented midfielder available for the business end of the campaign while Wenger will lose Henry right when the going gets tough. The latter’s arrival may have appeased the Gunner’s faithful but, as mentioned, it is a temporary solution to a permanent problem. Scholes may the same at United but, at least Ferguson knows he can now wait until the summer before making a move for a new central-midfielder rather than paying over the odds in January.

Ben McAleer

Football Friends bring you the latest football news and opinion from football fans around the world. Football News

Comments

[GoonerDave]

This is a very obvious click-generating article.
Henry is no spring chicken, and is certainly less of a player than he used to be, but Scholes was finished a year ago!
Im not saying Henry will prove to be better, but your blinkered version is very silly and amateurish.
I doubt either player will turn out to be a fantastic signing, but this article is very very poor indeed.
Shame on you for selling your soul to be a click-whore.

[HSM]

Boring, boring article

[jonty]

Don't give up the day job. What piss poor content and style.

[TruthMonger]

Agree with the comments above - very very poor article, Shame. On. You

[MJB]

Total Rubbish. Very badly thought out and very weak all round.

Obviously attempting to garner some form of response just for the hell of it.

[Gunner]

A lot of sense in this article.

[Mike]

Well your bound to be right because you are so clearly one of those people who belives Man U can do no wrong and Arsenal are relegation fodder and know nothing about anything. What a totally idiotic piece of drivel. Even an avid Man U fan ought to realise that writing such a one-sided bit of dross like this is totally unsustainable.

You talk about Henry not being up to the job when he scored within 10 minutes of making his reappearance and then suggest Scholes is brilliant and "up to speed with the pace of the premiership" whilst showing "his rustiness" in the game agaisnt Man City. What you failed to mention was that this "rustiness" was the sole reason Man U conceded the second goal and almost led to one of the most humiliating comebacks of all time. Top class analysis mate but I really think you should go back to revising for your GCSE's.

[John]

This was meant to be satire, right?

[P]

You're an idiot. And you can't write.

[nicky]

The return of sneaky thug Scholes must give hope to all teams playing United. The guy cannot tackle without fouling and the number of yellows and reds he will gather this season will bear this out. I only hope he will play on Sunday and will be watched closely by an impartial and honest ref.

[Tomf]

I am really sorry to singing the Chorus of everybody that has reacted to your nauseating write up , but you are either a spud fan or you badly in need of a Psychiatric evaluation .

[Stuart]

"Henry simply isn’t the player he was when he initially left North London back in 2007."

I would actually say he has been a better player for us than he was at the time of leaving the club. I wouldn't say he is better than at his peak but when he left us, his performances were dire, his team ethic left lots to be desired and you could really sense he had had enough. Now he has come back he is fresher and up for it again. Almost like he now realises what side his bread is buttered on.

The grass is always greener....

[Peter]

I don't think the brains of football supporters will ever deteriorate to the extent where such useless, windy and boring observations as yours will ever make any sense to them. Try blogging on tiddley winks or snakes and ladders and we may give you another once over look but meantime please give up pontificating on this subject. This is my first and last visit to this site. Bye, bye.

[Charlie]

The permanent signing of Lionel Messi would be the ideal solution for Arsenals' lack of talent on the wings but bearing in mind that Messi and various other star wingers aren't available and certainly won't be available this January Henry is a definite improvement on what Arsenal have and for that reason alone it's a good move. I would much rather have a past his best Henry on the wing than Andrei Arshavin and (although they play on different sides) Theo Walcott. Yes the squad has a lack of quality which needs to be addressed for the long-term but Henry can still benefit the club in the short-term while a long-term solution isn't available.