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On This Day In 2012, Thierry Henry Returned To Arsenal And Scored 'That Goal' Against Leeds

On This Day In 2012, Thierry Henry Returned To Arsenal And Scored 'That Goal' Against Leeds

What a moment.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

He described this goal as his favourite in an Arsenal shirt.

On this day in 2012, the great Thierry Henry made his heroic return to the Emirates during the second half of the 2011/12 season, making his second debut against Leeds in a truly memorable FA Cup third round tie.

It was a historic moment made even better by a scene that will forever give me goosebumps. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Henry would open the scoring with a trademark goal in the new-look 22 shirt, celebrating like it was his first as he ran down the touchline like a man possessed.

The Frenchman later spoke about the goal, describing it as his all-time favourite for the Gunners.

"One of my last acts in the FA Cup was special too: my strike against Leeds when I came back to London in 2012 was my favourite goal for Arsenal." Henry said in an interview with The Sun.

"That one was personal. It won't go down in FA Cup history but it was the first time I scored as a fan.

Arsenal's Thierry Henry scores the opening goal of the game. Image: PA
Arsenal's Thierry Henry scores the opening goal of the game. Image: PA

"You know, I wasn't meant to come back and I came back. I wasn't meant to play, I played. I wasn't meant to score, I scored. It was so emotional.

"It wasn't about technique or about the score, it was what it meant to me.

"Usually when I scored I didn't show much uncontrolled emotion. I was accused of being cold. Sometimes that was because I was annoyed because I'd missed a chance or because we were losing.

"But that day, we could have been 10-0 down and I would have still celebrated like that! I was a lunatic! I had scored as a fan! Everyone dreams of that."

Arsenal's Thierry Henry celebrates scoring the opening goal of the game. Image: PA
Arsenal's Thierry Henry celebrates scoring the opening goal of the game. Image: PA

It's over 20 years since Henry joined Premier League side Arsenal from Juventus in a £11 million, club record deal and from that day on, the iconic French striker has not only become the club's all-time leading goalscorer, but a club legend.

In fact, Henry has been labelled the club's greatest player of all time after scoring 228 goals during his time in North London.

Henry is the only player ever to have won the FWA Footballer of the Year three times, becoming his country's all-time top scorer while securing his place in football history.

And before we go, can we also just give a special mention to the glove/long sleeve/socks to knees combination.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/FA

Topics: Leeds, Football News, Football, Goals, FA Cup, Arsenal, thierry henry

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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@jackkenmare_