Emirates Cup: Loyal Arsenal fans say thank you to Thierry Henry, but where were the rest of them?

After watching Arsenal draw 1-1 with the New York Red Bulls, RICHARD OSLEY says fans who missed the Emirates Cup this year missed the chance to salute one of Arsenal's greatest.

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2011

THIS was the closest Arsenal fans have had to a Thierry Henry testimonial, the club's greatest goalscorer returning for a leisurely game of football and then a lap of honour. Even those sniffy about the importance of the Emirates Cup should have seen the significance of this weekend's event. This represented more than a friendly match, it was a big thank you to Arsenal's most lethal. Not only did Henry score more goals than anybody else in a Gunners shirt, he did so with an unmatched style which quickly eclipsed Ian Wright's own goal glut from the years that had come before.

It was a shame then that some grumpy season ticket holders, the ones who sit in silence all season and could be blamed for helping to create the tense gloom that can cloud league matches at the Emirates, didn't make the effort for Thierry on Sunday. They have short memories. Yes, it was an extra ticket to buy, but this was Thierry. And it was a shame too, that those who sat through a pretty dire 1-1 draw with Henry's team from New York, the Red Bulls, did not stay to salute him in the way his contribution to the club merits. He ran to each corner of the ground afterwards, picking up scarves and signing autographs. This was the moment of appreciation for all of those goals. Short, short memories from those already at the hot dog stall.

There was another grump in the stadium: the ref. He refused a request for Henry to swap sides in the second half, depriving us all of the tantalising prospect of seeing Henry, for one last time, pull on the famous red and white shirt. Arsenal had failed to win its own tournament on home soil with two draws on two days, and had failed to set it up so that this most special of treats could become a reality. It shouldn't have been up to the ref. Henry is the law at Ashburton Grove.

On the basis of the actual football, Arsene Wenger could actually do a lot worse than trying to convince the old master to re-sign for the club and have a second stint. He still has a turn of speed and a racing mind clearly too fast for his American teammates. The closest he came to a goal was a wonderful bending free kick which Szczeny palmed away. There were cries of 'let him score' in the second half. It would have been a more palatable way to surrender this little league competition than a late own goal from Kyle Bartley.

The worrying findings from the weekend for Arsenal fans is that the summer break seems not to have snuffed out the team's chaotic penchant for surrendering leads. Two up against Boca Juniors, they had to settle for a draw on Saturday. Against the New York Red Bulls, Arsenal dominated near enough the entire match without advancing on a one goal lead, courtesy of Robin van Persie's first half header. Blunt in attack, echoes of all those wasted opportunities from last season rang around the stadium until Bartley stuck through his own net with minutes to spare. A draw was enough for Henry's Red Bulls, having beaten Paris St Germain the day before, to claim the medals.

That conclusion confounded the crueller edge to the occasion. With Henry on the pitch, there was a permanent reminder of Wenger's true golden age. There is a sharp contrast with trying to win championships with Henry, Pires, Vieira, the list went on, and the current crop of dreamers where the magnificence of van Persie is undermined by the mediocrity of Eboue and Rosicky. For a couple of hours, Arsenal fans could be forgiven for feeling misty-eyed over the return of the prodigal son. Wenger hasn't enough money for a permanent time machine, mind.