Arsene Wenger surprised how good Thierry Henry still is

When Arsenal brought club legend Thierry Henry back for a short loan spell, they probably thought he would provide a morale boost for the squad and impart a bit of wisdom to the youngster. In addition to that, the 34-year-old striker has actually been a spark on the pitch and scored two match-winning goals to keep Arsenal alive in the FA Cup and propel them into fourth place in the Premier League.

Now, after failing to extend Henry's loan from the New York Red Bulls, Arsene Wenger admits that this wasn't at all what he expected. From the BBC:

"We didn't expect him to be so important for us when he signed," he added.

"His talent on the pitch is still much sharper than I expected after being out in the States.

"I expected him to have more health problems because at the end of the day he left top, top European level football because he was a bit concerned about his knee problems, but he's in good shape."

Sounds like Arsene learned something about the quality of MLS and that footballers don't turn into lepers as they age. Could this be the dawn of a new philosophical era for Wenger?

Expect a call, Freddie Ljungberg.