A stroke of genius or act of desperation?

So this weekend was dominated by two things – yet another shocking performance by the advert for specsavers himself, Mr Chris Foy, but also the ‘second coming of Scholes.’

Yes, if you have been living under a rock over the last couple of days, you have not mis-read. Scholes, in the same week Henry has resigned for the Gunners, has come out of retirement. What next I hear you wonder – perhaps Zola will pop up at the Bridge and show Torres how it is done?!

On a much more serious note, yes the return of these players is a brilliant thing if only for sentimental reasons, and especially Henry, I do feel he has something left to give, but in Scholes’ case, the only thing he had to give during the derby tie was the ball back to City and a subsequent goal.

Now I am not diminishing the effect Scholes had whilst at United the first time around, a better midfielder – tackling aside – you would be hard pressed to find, yet why exactly is Scholes out of retirement?

Fergie tried to state that they had been considering it for a while, after Scholes missed the game too much – yet can you imagine this happening with any other player? Yes, Scholes went out on a high, and could have pushed one maybe two more seasons, yet in reality this is just papering over the cracks, and is simply not what United need to keep up with City.

The FA cup result and that controversy to one side, United do not have as strong a squad as City, and crashed out of the Champions League to boot. Cue suggestions of who is needed and what can be done at Old Trafford,  and instead of bidding for say Sneidjer, a long mooted replacement for Scholes, they decided to bring the original back – wise move? I think not.

Why exactly are United unable to buy someone? Yes the winter transfer window is often criticised and big clubs may not want to sell, but if the offer is made, a player will often go. Everyone has a price, yet do United have the money?

This is the question that should be the most worrying of all, and despite spending in the summer, surely all the Ronaldo money, not to mention the rest of the transfer kitty cannot all be gone can it? In reality, Fergie seems to be burying his head in the sand and from United’s point of view, the Scholes return has provided far more questions than it has answered and more worries that alleviated.

Henry returning to Arsenal however, is in my opinion a masterstroke by Wenger, both for the fans and players. People questioned if RVP would take offence at the move and be put out both emotionally and positionally, yet the Dutchman has welcomed the return of Henry, and lets keep in mind this is only for a couple of months, and then he will return to the MLS.

Henry is still sharp, and a player of that level does not lose his ability by moving to a lesser league. As the striker himself said, when it comes to Arsenal, his heart does the talking, and he could not turn down the chance to come back. With this return, what is the worst that will happen? Henry will bang in a couple of goals and go back to America.

By advocating the return of the king I am in no way saying Arsenal do not need another striker, they do and big time, but Henry gives immediate cover for the African Cup and takes the spotlight off RVP for a little period of time. It also gives Wenger the chance to consider his spending – Arsenal do not have money to pour down the drain and cannot afford a ‘Torres like’ disaster.

Perhaps my emotions are taking over with the return of Henry, yet I am not an Arsenal fan- far from it – I am just happy to see a player back who has something left to give. Scholes on the other hand is a much more complex conundrum, and whilst Arsenal are not using the loan signing of Henry as a way to paper over cracks, still admitting they need a class striker, United are using the return of Scholes to cover the fact their squad is average to say the least, and unless something is done soon, ‘average’ will be a kind term when talking about their midfield.