Thierry Henry certainly brought good luck to Arsenal today – on his debut as a regular Sky Sports pundit the Gunners snatched a 2-0 win at Premier League champions Manchester City.
His former team impressed on the pitch, but how did the Frenchman slot into his role in the studio?
Here are a few key moments which show what Henry has to offer as a pundit.
1. On Arsenal
Henry wasn’t afraid to tell it how it is when it came to his old club – even if they weren’t the most original points ever.
2. “We”
Old habits die hard – and we all know Henry is a Gunner at heart. He’ll have to stop referring to them as “we” pretty quickly if he’s going to be taken seriously as a pundit, but for now people seem prepared to forgive him.
3. On Tom Huddlestone
Before attention could be turned fully to the Etihad, Henry and fellow studio pundit Graeme Souness had to get through some discussions on West Ham v Hull.
Both had good things to say about Hull midfielder Huddlestone. Tigers fans weren’t convinced.
4. On Sone Aluko
At half-time, Henry suggested Hull striker Aluko could have gone down and won a penalty when a West Ham defender made contact with him in the box. Not exactly the best way to endear yourself to English football fans – or Irish ones, of course.
5. On David Silva
Before Arsenal’s match kicked off, Henry said he believes David Silva is Manchester City’s best player – better, therefore, than Sergio Aguero. Perhaps predictably, this one split opinion.
Well, it’s part of a pundit’s job to say controversial things. Just keep an eye out for him next week saying Aguero is City’s best – that sort of thing can harm your credibility.
For the record, Silva had a pretty poor game.
6. On Santi Cazorla
Henry also had nice things to say about Cazorla – particularly his two-footedness.
Cazorla went on to have a far better game than Silva – in fact, he was man of the match by a distance. Good call, Thierry.
7. On Alexis Sanchez
Henry’s analysis of Arsenal star Sanchez was definitely one of the high points of his Super Sunday debut – in particular the difference between playing for Barcelona and the Gunners.8. Some football happened
Unfortunately for those hoping to say how much Arsenal would love to have Henry in their team, they actually started the match pretty well – and went 1-0 up when Cazorla struck from the penalty spot following Vincent Kompany’s foul on Nacho Monreal.
In the second half, Arsenal went 2-0 up when Olivier Giroud nodded in Cazorla’s free-kick.
9. I told you so
Henry was quick to point out after the final whistle that he’d highlighted Cazorla before the game.Well, yes, but he was also purring about Silva. Let’s not talk about that.
10. Post-match
As Henry settled in to analyse the match, the watching public analysed Henry’s analysis. We liked this take on it…
