After a disappointing loss to Bournemouth, some Arsenal fans may have spotted a nice distraction in the form of Thierry Henry taking part in a bizarre football match in South Korea.
Arsenal legend Henry was one of several icons invited to Korea to take part in the Nexon Icon match, a game with a fun twist.
FC Spear faced Shield United over 90 minutes, and one team was made up entirely of attackers and the other? Just defenders.
Who did Thierry Henry play alongside in the Nexon icon match?
Henry was part of FC Spear, who were captained by Didier Drogba, who led his team from centre-back.
And it gets more bizarre from there.
Henry played at left-back and was joined by Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez to complete the back four – a Premier League quarter formerly known for terrorising defences.
Of course, FC Spear were able to name an exciting front three given they were a team of goal-scorers, with Eden Hazard and Luis Figo playing either side of Alessandro Del Piero.
As for Shield United, they were captained by Rio Ferdinand who was one of very few players in their correct position for the match.
Yaya Toure was joined by John Arne Riise and Clarence Seedorf in Shield United’s front three, a front line not necessarily blessed with pace.
Toure admitted that he regrets not joining Arsenal in the past, although Arsene Wenger probably never envisioned him as a centre-forward.
What was the result in the Nexon icon match?
Toure’s team of defenders won the game 4-1, with the former Manchester City and Barcelona star getting himself on the score sheet.
Henry wasn’t amongst the goals for his side, something you couldn’t say too often in his career.
Clarence Seedorf, Park Joo-ho and Javier Mascherano also scored in a match that was a real feast for the eyes.
Ji-Sung Park scored a FC Spear’s solitary goal, a team of attackers with very little end product.
Starting XI for FC Spear (4-3-3)
- GK – Kim Byung-ji
- LB – Thierry Henry
- CB – Dimitar Berbatov
- CB – Didier Drogba (c)
- RB – Carlos Tevez
- CM – Rivaldo
- CM – Marouane Fellaini
- CM – Kaka
- LW – Eden Hazard
- ST – Alessandro Del Piero
- RW – Luis Figo
Substitutes: Andriy Shevchenko, Park Ji-sung, Lee Chun-soo, Michael Owen, Ahn Jung-hwan, Diego Forlan and Kim Young-dae.
Starting XI for Shield Unied (3-4-3)
- GK – Edwin van de Sar
- CB – Fabio Cannavaro
- CB – Nemanja Vidic
- CB – Rio Ferdinand (c)
- LM – Javier Mascherano
- CM – Andrea Pirlo
- CM – Leonardo Bonucci
- RM – Carlos Puyol
- LW – John Arne Riise
- ST – Yaya Toure
- RW – Clarence Seedorf
Substitutes: Ricardo Carvalho, Park Joo-ho, Adilson, Lee Young-pyo, Lee Min-hyuk and Kim Nam-il.
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