THIERRY HENRY capped his fairytale return to Arsenal with the winner to sink Leeds.
It was just like the good old days as the Gunners legend, 34, came off the bench to light up the Emirates with his 'va va voom' and the only goal of this FA Cup tie.
It was the 227th goal of his stunning Arsenal career.
And an emotional Henry admitted: "It's incredible. I never thought I would play for Arsenal again, let alone score the winner.
"I love this club and I wanted to help out.
"It was an amazing feeling when I scored and hopefully it won't be the last one.
"I will always remember this night. It's kind of weird, 15 days ago I came back from holiday in Mexico and it wasn't the plan to be the hero.
"But it was very important to take that first opportunity because you never know if you are going to get a second and I took it well."
Henry, who is on loan from New York Red Bulls until the end of February, raced straight into the arms of a delighted Arsene Wenger as he celebrated his 78th-minute strike.
The Gunners boss beamed: "It was a dream comeback, the kind of story you tell young kids about football.
"He was already a legend here but tonight he has added just a bit more to the whole story.
"He is a special player who has seen and done it all yet is still focused, motivated and has an immense desire to do well. That's what champions are all about.
"There was a lot of pressure on him because he's a proud guy and he didn't want to come back and disappoint people.
"He knows he'll be compared to what he did before and he always wants to be seen as someone who does well. It's a kind of combat you want to be a success.
"All I told him when I sent him on was to play through the middle. You don't need to tell him too much. He's done it all before.
"You could see straight away that he was a presence on the pitch and if you could find him he would be dangerous.
"It didn't surprise me that he scored tonight but when he was through on goal I thought his angle was a bit too close.
"But he didn't force his shot and still made it look easy. That was the special finishing of Thierry Henry that we all know."
Leeds manager Simon Grayson said: "What happened tonight was written in the stars.
"But my players can be proud of themselves. We were very close to getting a result and we deserved a replay."
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| WOW ... Hero Thierry Henry goes wild after his winner |
It was just like the good old days as the Gunners legend, 34, came off the bench to light up the Emirates with his 'va va voom' and the only goal of this FA Cup tie.
It was the 227th goal of his stunning Arsenal career.
And an emotional Henry admitted: "It's incredible. I never thought I would play for Arsenal again, let alone score the winner.
"I love this club and I wanted to help out.
"It was an amazing feeling when I scored and hopefully it won't be the last one.
"I will always remember this night. It's kind of weird, 15 days ago I came back from holiday in Mexico and it wasn't the plan to be the hero.
"But it was very important to take that first opportunity because you never know if you are going to get a second and I took it well."
Henry, who is on loan from New York Red Bulls until the end of February, raced straight into the arms of a delighted Arsene Wenger as he celebrated his 78th-minute strike.
The Gunners boss beamed: "It was a dream comeback, the kind of story you tell young kids about football.
"He was already a legend here but tonight he has added just a bit more to the whole story.
"He is a special player who has seen and done it all yet is still focused, motivated and has an immense desire to do well. That's what champions are all about.
"There was a lot of pressure on him because he's a proud guy and he didn't want to come back and disappoint people.
"He knows he'll be compared to what he did before and he always wants to be seen as someone who does well. It's a kind of combat you want to be a success.
"All I told him when I sent him on was to play through the middle. You don't need to tell him too much. He's done it all before.
"You could see straight away that he was a presence on the pitch and if you could find him he would be dangerous.
"It didn't surprise me that he scored tonight but when he was through on goal I thought his angle was a bit too close.
"But he didn't force his shot and still made it look easy. That was the special finishing of Thierry Henry that we all know."
Leeds manager Simon Grayson said: "What happened tonight was written in the stars.
"But my players can be proud of themselves. We were very close to getting a result and we deserved a replay."
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