The technique is still there, the speed is not. He’s also been nursing various long-running injuries for some time.

Of course, my other concern is that he will try to go full-throttle, and in doing so injure himself or exhaust himself ahead of the serious business: the 2012 MLS season.

1. On ability (speed in particular): Even in his day, Henry reached a level of finishing prowess at which he didn’t even need to utilize his speed to blow away defenders anymore. Anyone who watched arsenal particularly around 2006, the last highbury season, saw that transformation.

2. On Wenger’s decision: Can we look at this in the context of this man’s thinking for a moment please? We know how skeptically he approaches aging players. How can you say this would fall into his blind spot. In my opinion, this would fall into the yellow read and orange caution watch-the-fuck-out spot for Wenger.

3. On Practicality: Let’s also just think about the situation the club finds itself in cureently. It’s a numbers game. We need some depth. To go out and get a new forward on the market would probably be pricey relative to market value. Needless to say, we won’t need the extra forward after our guys return. He will be perfect for FA Cup games, substitutes and what not… the whole thing just makes sense.

You may be on to something, but I’m not sure how undervalued older players are at a team like Arsenal, which relies so much on pace and quick passes – speed is more than physical speed. Reflexes and decision-making speed both slow as one ages too, and that is deadly in a team that plays the way Arsenal does.

I have said for many years that I wish Arsenal played more like Manchester United – they have a plan A, a plan B, and can cobble together a plan C if they need to, and each plan is a different style of playing. This allows Giggs to adapt and use his abilities as they decline and evolve over the years. Arsenal have committed to a style of play that doesn’t support playing guys as they get older, and I just fear that will leave Henry exposed as an average player in a really good team.