The veteran French attacker found the net in injury time to give The Gunners all three points in a 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light, in what will be his last Premier League appearance for the north London outfit before heading back to New York Red Bulls.

The goal was a source of delight for Henry, who is eligible for Arsenal‘s Champions League tie against AC Milan in midweek before returning to the United States.

“Just like a kid who came on and scored his first goal for the team he loves, that’s exactly how I felt, really like a kid,” he told BBC Sport.

“When it comes to Arsenal, I always feel something special. At the end of the day, I was there at the end of the move, but I just want to help.

“That’s all I wanted to do. I said it right from the start – I didn’t want to be a hero or whatever, just like one of the guys in the dressing room.

“When you come on as a sub, you want to help your team and change the game anyway, anyhow, and it did happen.

“A lot of the time, the guy who puts the ball in the back of the net will always get the credit, but the cross from Andrey Arshavin was perfect.

“You can always miss, but it was going to be very difficult to miss that one, so you have to give him a lot of credit for that one.

“I was just there at the right time and I finished it, so that’s the most important thing.

“Obviously, I stayed a bit longer with the Arsenal fans at the end because I knew it was the last game for me in the Premier League, so I just wanted to say, ‘Thanks, that’s it’,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

The Gunners will be aware of the quality in the Italian side’s ranks, but their coach is looking for all-important away goals at the San Siro.

“The European system is organised to reward audacious action away from home,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

“When you go away in the Champions League, you have to score.

“The best way to score is play in an offensive way and we will try to do that.”

Meanwhile, Gunners playmaker Mikel Arteta is hoping his influence can help to balance the Arsenal team.

“I watch the game from behind [the attackers] and I know that when we become too open we leave many spaces and concede goals,” he told Arsenal Player.

“I just try to balance the team a little bit.

“Sometimes I would like to go forward more, but I’ve still had chances and the goal [against Blackburn] was my sixth this year, which isn’t bad.

“I don’t want to be the main man; we all know who the main man is and that’s Robin [van Persie]. He is the leader, he is the one who makes a real difference.

“Everyone is part of a machine and we are all just trying to make the machine work as well as we can,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

It is a mystery at how much players are built up before they have even kicked a ball in the Premier League and here is a look at the top ten footballing mysteries that have occurred in the Premier League over the past 20 years.

Click on Mido to unveil the top 10 football mysteries

The Premier League has always been a mixed bag of players and I always welcome witnessing a mismatch on the field whether it is Ramon Vega looking to mark Dennis Bergkamp; Tony Hibbert attempting to shackle Cristiano Ronaldo, or simply Gregorsz Rasiak attempting to take on any Premier League defence; the bad will always play a major part in adding to the excitement of the league.

This current Premier League season has been no different and this is the FIRST PART in my look of  who I consider to be arguably the worst players plying their trade at present:

Click on Stefan Savic to unveil the top 10

The players now call the shots at football clubs and are controlling the contract situations, while parasite agents tout their client out from club to club in order to get a new club or bigger deal. I’m sure this wasn’t Bosman’s intention when he first set out in the courts to fight his right to freedom, but the subsequent change in EU Law has created the beast we are not witnessing now.

A staggering 109 players who were registered for Premier League football are out of contract at the end of this season resulting in many clubs looking to either move them on in the summer or risk making a loss in May. There will be plenty of chances to earn a new contract for the future Bosman players, but having now let their contracts run down to just over six months remaining, perhaps the clubs are eager to get rid of them.

The list of out-of-contract players is not just packed with squad players and bit-part first team members, but star internationals that have brought a lot to the Premier League in the past five years or so.

At the end of last season there was not a huge rush to snap up free signings from the Premier League as there was very little to choose from. Hargreaves, Ba and McFadden were about as glamorous as it got last May but this year a team could be built solely from free signings that could well finish in the top half of the league. A club could spend their whole transfer budget on wages for these players and have a better side than most in the Premier League next season.

Click on Tomas Rosicky to unveil the Bosman XI for 2012

This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of articles that include; the rise of Oxlade-Chamberlain; Frimpong’s new found spare time, while Spanish tax laws may play into Premier League club’s hands.

Best of FFC

Spanish Tax ruling may ultimately play into the Premier League’s hands

Arsenal’s top TEN tattoos…well sort of!

What are the long-term ramifications for Arsenal?

A welcome stance that Arsene Wenger has taken

The rise and rise of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsene Wenger keen on Eden Hazard

Frimpong’s new found spare time

The ideal role for Aaron Ramsey?

Destined for a future ‘top four’ move?

Who should start in the ‘hole’ position – Rosicky or Ramsey? – Gunnersphere

Dirty Harry does anal Arsene and Arsenal a massive favour! – Le Grove

In praise of the Ox – Online Gooner

One Of Speaks: Let’s Get This Party Started Right – A Cultured Left Foot

Gervinho stunner! Wilshere & Oxlade-Chamberlain shouldn’t even be considered for England…….. – Highbury House

Wenger targets Fiorentina youngster – Gunnersphere

Quote of the Week

“Frankly, Marca is as creative as some English newspapers. That means you cannot believe every word that is said in Marca. They don’t care, Marca, at all. I think they are even far more from real evidence than any English newspapers. They create just stories.” Wenger talking in response to Madrid being linked with Van Persie (Daily Telegraph)

Action from the Stadium of Light

So whether it’s team mates coming to blows, the paparazzi snapping players boozing it up or just stupid and bizarre actions, they make it onto the list. What didn’t make it was the England WAGS from the 2006 World Cup, they reportedly distracted the players during the tournament and although it wasn’t the players misbehaving themselves, they nearly made it into the top ten. Also, quite a few people recommended Cristiano Ronaldo photographed in speedo’s as a criminal activity, but again it failed to make the ten below…..

Click on Gazza below to see the Top TEN!

Compiled by Matt Freebody

Kenny Dalglish excused the treatment of Evra as fine – after all, he was regularly booed as a player, so what’s the difference?

Really it’s about time managers stopped the siege mentality and stopped defending their club’s every action. By defending the club this usually means the players’ actions and the fans’ actions. It seems obvious they won’t criticise the owners- that wouldn’t be a good career move, as Alex Ferguson knows well enough.

When considering  examples of when defending your club goes too far, Dalglish’s conduct over Suarez is  an obvious choice.

Despite Liverpool’s anger over proceedings, surely everyone realised it was time to move on once Suarez returned to action. But not Dalglish, who had to mention the injustice of it all once more in a press conference. The problem with Dalglish is that he is a fan of the club he manages – it runs through his blood, and which of us is happy with criticising the actions of our club when the club is under attack? No, we adopt a siege mentality, and back our team to the hilt.

It seems clear that managers are loath to criticise fans, whatever they do. Even Steve Kean can’t bring himself to do it much. Fans could throw bags of faeces onto the pitch and the manager would probably claim it was a protest at national toilet facilities. Burn down the souvenir store? That’s a term of endearment in Dundee. Now it seems that just being related to the alleged victim of a racial insult is now a crime, and thus appropriate for a “lively” reception from opposition fans. Needless to say, Andre Villas-Boas passed off Rio Ferdinand‘s treatment as normal.

Villas-Boas said: “You don’t expect opposing fans to cheer your players.” He added: “This is a normal situation in the Premier League.” To be fair to Villas-Boas though he did admit such actions were wrong, which was good to hear.
“You have to condemn it when there is discriminatory, aggressive behaviour.”

Managers are loathe to criticise their players either, not surprising considering what delicate souls they tend to be. Hence, managers will regularly critics the actions of opposition players whilst defending identical actions of their own (if they saw it), no doubt adding that the other team’s player was looking for it, and got his player sent off.

Managers rely on the support of the fans of course, so won’t be keen to get on their wrong side. But do they not realise that they may gain more respect from many of their fans of they were honest? Plenty of Chelsea fans would have been disappointed by the booing of Rio Ferdinand, in the same way that many Liverpool fans found the booing of Evra distasteful. Wouldn’t they appreciate their manager saying so?

Part of the problem is, as we saw with Suarez, is that the fans’ behaviour is often shaped by the actions of their club’s hierarchy. This may only make matters worse. And with the modern phenomena of social media, fans have a gateway to the players, to continue their odious behaviour. Thus only yesterday, Manchester City‘s Micah Richards deleted his Twitter account, having finally had enough of racial abuse on the social network. This is a problem that clearly hasn’t gone away as we had hoped. Away from the experiences of Richards and back to Suarez (who it must be reiterated was never accused of being racist), I accept that Liverpool football club and their fans could not accept a ban based not on proof but merely probability, and that they feel aggrieved, and I realise they cannot predict the consequence of all of their actions, but they should realise that keeping the issue bubbling under the surface is only making matters worse, and brings the worst out in a minority of fans. Sometimes you have to accept your fate, and move on.

And as Manchester United and Liverpool go into battle once more, another problem is that of obscene chants, which also begs the question – could clubs do more? If managers spoke out about Munich, Hillsborough or various other songs, could it make a difference? I know clubs have made moves behind the scenes to try and improve matters, but could a more up-front policy bear dividends? Or would they continue nevertheless?

Of course when it comes to criticising their own, not all managers bite their lip. As the pressure tells on Arsene Wenger, he has turned recently on some of the most vociferous fans. The likes of Mick McCarthy too have criticised supporters. I’m all for it. Us fans are generally idiots, happy to dole it out before acting shocked should we get it back, be it off a player or a manager with nothing to lose. But lose the suppor tof the fans, and your days as a manager are numbered. It’s no wonder most managers keep their thoughts to themselves. They’d probably have plenty to say if they could.

As a nation, we think ourselves superior to much of the world in many respects – a progressive, multicultural, well-mannered country that shakes its head and expresses horror at the action of fans and clubs in other countries, where for example the incidents of racism are as common as a swallow dive in the penalty area. Recent events show we aren’t there yet – we still have our problems, be it racism, common abuse, or just acting with decorum and in the right way. Those that represent our clubs have got a duty to help stop those that act appallingly, and occasionally that must involve criticising your own. We’d all be better off for it.

But then comes that controversial, ugly side of football; like a late, late substitution by the opposition you hoped wouldn’t make an appearance, but diving is all too common and certainly takes away from the integrity of the game. In fact, the very mention of integrity in the modern game has become laughable, but that is the situation we’ve come to accept.

Far too many regular divers and conmen line-up for Premer League clubs each week. And it’s not necessarily the fact that you want to get rid of them as players, but rather highlight and eradicate the persistent diving to win one over on the other team. Common, ugly, and with no rightful place in the game.

Click on Didier Drogba to unveil the top 10

“Bad News is that I’m out for 6-9months with my Knee Gd News is that I will therefore have all the time in my hands to be doin #frimmyfacts”

Indeed, although football fans everywhere will be inundated with further editions of #frimmyfacts over the coming months, the 20-year-olds on field presence will be truly missed by both Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

If anything, Frimpong will have too much spare time on his hands now to groom his Twitter following, after suffering a recurrence of the anterior cruciate ligament injury which has this time transpired in his right knee.

Following Frimpong’s nine month lay-off in 2010 where the injury hampered his left knee, should Arsenal fans be concerned over their latest talented youngsters long-term fitness?

Well, he may be the joker of the Arsenal and since Wolves dressing rooms, but Emmanuel Frimpong’s latest injury setback is no laughing matter. The midfielder missed the entire 2010/11 season after receiving the injury in the early stages of the campaign. Indeed, we may have all been made aware of Frimpong’s powerful style a season sooner, had the injury not occurred.

It is a massive shame for all connected with Arsenal and Wolves whereby he impressed making Mick McCarthy’s starting line-up in all five of the Premier League games since he agreed to join on the very last day of 2011.

Much similar to Jack Wilshere’s loan move to Bolton in January 2010, Arsene Wenger was hoping that valuable Premier League experience would prove pivotal in the early stages of Frimpong’s career also.

Current first-choice holding midfielder Alex Song too achieved success via the route of signing on loan for a struggling Premier League outfit when he joined Charlton in 2007.

It seemed apparent that Frimpong was just the latest Gunners youngster to sample Arsene Wenger’s tried and tested loan passage through to the Arsenal first team reckoning.

The Arsenal Official Website read that

‘Emmanuel will see specialists in London over the next few days before having surgery and starting a programme of rehabilitation’.

In the long-term, Arsenal fans might be worried that Frimpong won’t be able to shake his injury nightmare away much like the metatarsal fractures that have reared their ugly ahead upon Wayne Rooney over the years.

Frimpong has forged a reputation as a strong athlete who doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game. Indeed, he received a red card on his full Arsenal debut in the home defeat to Liverpool earlier this season.

Being a defensive minded midfielder and a #DENCH strong athlete of sorts, Frimpong wholehearted approach will mean he will always be susceptible to picking up knocks and Arsenal fans will wait and wonder as to whether his long-term career will be blighted by injuries, or whether these are just unfortunate incidences at the start of a fulfilling career.

Arsenal fans everywhere will wish both Frimpong and the also sidelined Wilshere the speediest of recoveries as the club maintains their push for a place in the Premier League’s top four.

Follow me @http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989