Henry scores on comeback to send Arsenal through to next round

Thierry Henry scored a dramatic winner on Monday night to seal a 1-0 win for Arsenal as they beat Leeds at the Emirates to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup. Henry scored his 227th goal with 12 minutes remaining as he capped off a memorable return to action in an Arsenal shirt. After securing a two month loan deal the Gunners will be hoping for more of the same over that time from the goal scoring hero. With Gervinho off to the Africa Cup of Nations and Chamakh following in the days to come, only Chamakh started whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin and Squillaci all got chances to prove themselves as Song, Ramsey and Arteta who captained the side on the night all started.

Henry scored on his comeback to send Arsenal into the next round of the FA Cup

The first chance of the game fell to Arshavin as he cut inside but only managed to fire the ball high and wide of the goal.

Arsenal's next chance came from a free kick as Arteta floated the ball into towards the back post and onto the head of Squillaci who headed just wide.

Ramsey then managed to create a chance for himself as he got forward and then hit a left footed shot from outside the box which wistled over the bar.

Ramsey had had a great start to the game as he then set up Arteta for a shot as he came onto his left foot before drilling a shot wide of the target.

The visitors first opportunity of the game fell to Becchio as the ball came off an Arsenal player and bounced into the path of the Argentine who blazed his shot over the crossbar.

The score at half time was 0-0.

The first chance of the second half came in the opening minute as Oxlade-Chamberlain got down the right hand side before cutting inside and again firing wide of the goalkeeper and the goal.

Arshavin was looking as though he had something to prove as he almost found the net after a Leeds mistake. The ball bounced off Chamakh and then onto a Leeds player before arriving at Arshavin's feet but he sliced the ball wide.

Oxlade-Chamberlain then forced a save out of Lonergan in the Leeds goal as he played a one-two with Ramsey before firing a fierce shot towards goal which was parmed away by Lonergan.

It was then the return of the legend as Thierry Henry replaced Marouane Chamakh on 67 minutes.

That change proved to be decisive as Henry scored with his first chance back in an Arsenal shirt. Alex Song picked the ball up before playing the ball through to Henry who comfortably side footed the ball into the back of the net to roll back the years and give Arsenal the lead. His celebration was rounded off with a hug from the manager, Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners still had to withstand one more chance as Townsend, on loan from Tottenham, played the ball into the path of Forssell who saw his shot kept out by Szczesny.

Henry's goal proved to be the difference as the Gunners went into the fourth round of the FA Cup to play Aston Villa at home later this month.

The final score ended Arsenal 1-0 Leeds.

The teams lineups:

Arsenal: Szczesny, Coquelin(33), Koscielny, Squillaci, Miquel, Song, Arteta, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain(68), Arshavin, Chamakh(68).
Subs: Martinez, Yennaris(33), Benayoun, Ryo, Walcott(68), Park, Henry(68).

Leeds: Lonergan, Lees, Thompson, O'Dea, White, Clayton, Vayrynen(61), Pugh, Townsend, Nunez(82), Becchio(74).
Subs: Taylor, Bruce, Sam, Brown(61), Parker, Forssell(82), McCormack(74).

My man of the match: Thierry Henry

Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Attendance: 59,615

Arsenal celebrate 125 years - Commemorating Legends

Arsenal Football club have honoured three Arsenal greats by unveiling three statues outside the Emirates Stadium.Former manager Herbet Chapman, defensive rock Tony Adams and goal scoring hero Thierry Henry have all been commemorated in bronze statues which were unveiled by Arsenal Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood. The unveiling of the three statues forms part of Arsenal’s 125th anniversary celebrations which is set to continue before todays game against Everton.

Joined by Peter Hill-Wood, Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry for the event was a large crowd to witness the unveiling around the stadium. The first statue to be revealed was Herbert Chapman who was Arsenal manager between 1925 and 1934. Chapman's Arsenal teams won the league four times in five years whilst his management developed and advanced diets, fitness, tactics and brilliant football. His time, however, at Arsenal was cut short as he died in 1934 aged just 55. Herbert Chapman's statue has been placed underneath the clock close to the Danny Fiszman Bridge and sees him looking towards the Stadium as a symbol of the Club’s achievements and importance whilst he was at Highbury.

Herbert Chapman

The second statue to be unveiled was of defender Tony Adams which has been located outside the Northbank at the Emirates. Adams spent 19 years at the club as he made a total of 669 appearances, becoming Arsenal's second all time appearence maker behind David O'leary. He is also the most successful captain in the Club’s history, leading Arsenal to ten major competition victories.

Tony Adams

The third and final statue to be unveiled was Thierry Henry. Henry is Arsenal's all time leading goal scorer with 226 strikes during his 8 years at the club. Henry won several major honours winning the Premier League and FA Cup twice, the Premier League 'Golden Boot' four times and the PFA Player of the Year award on two occassions. The Frenchman has always been renowned as an Arsenal legend as he also scored the last ever goal at Highbury in May 2006. Thierry Henry's statue has been placed in the south-east corner of the Emirates Stadium, next to the Spirit of Highbury mural.

Thierry Henry

The statues to commemorate these Arsenal legends were designed and created by MDM. They have been cast in bronze and are all life size and a half of the individuals. Having taken around 625 hours to create and weighing approximately 200kg each. The figures were lifted into place on Wednesday, ahead of Friday’s ceremony.

Also to celebrate the Club's anniversary, referee for Arsenal's game against Everton, Howard Webb, will use a sixpence in the coin toss to commemorate how the club started out. A group of workers at Dial Square armaments factory in Woolwich decided to form a football team, each giving a sixpence - two and a half pence in today's money - for the purchase of a football.