In contrast to their Premiership form, Arsenal are top of Group B after beating Sparta Prague 2 – 0. Thierry Henry made his return from injury a little ahead of schedule when Jose Antonio Reyes came off after 15 minutes with a suspected fractured rib (later to be diagnosed as only being bruised). Wenger had been planning to give Henry a 30-minute run out, but was forced to change his plans.
Henry was clearly thrilled to be back playing. With practially his first touch he volleyed the ball goal-wards, with a deflection sending the ball out for a corner. Shortly afterwards he was on target, with an excellently taken goal. Toure sent the ball upfield, and Henry controlled it behind him with the back of his heel, before turning and bending a shot with the outside of his right foot into the far corner of the net.
Henry made it a pair in the second half when he latched onto a great bending pass from Pires behind the defenders and slotted it past the keeper to make it 2 – 0. In the process, he also broke Ian Wright’s goalscoring record for the club, having now scored 186 goals. Henry has done this is six seasons, and is likely to build on this total to set a record that will take some beating.
The Group B table is:
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| Ajax | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| FC Thun | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Sparta Prague | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |