Arsenal 'need' Thierry Henry says Wojciech Szczesny

Wojciech Szczesny admits Arsenal "need" record goalscorer Thierry Henry back at the club.

The 34-year-old Frenchman has agreed to rejoin the Gunners on a two-month loan deal from Major League Soccer franchise New York Red Bulls.

Henry's deal is dependent on insurance agreements being worked out with the American club, and goalkeeper Szczesny is praying the deal goes through.

"He's quality," he said. "He's a great finisher and he's very clever, very intelligent, plus he's a great figure to have in the dressing room.

"He helps all the players off the pitch as well as on the pitch, so it's great to have him in the dressing room.

"Hopefully everything will be done and confirmed as soon as possible because we need him."

While Arsene Wenger admits Henry will not be match-fit immediately, Arsenal will be hoping to push through the deal before their FA Cup third round tie with Leeds.

The north Londoners are in need of a morale boost after their last-gasp defeat at Fulham, having looked set for a fifth victory in six Barclays Premier League away matches.

Steve Sidwell and Bobby Zamora netted in the final minutes of the match to secure the Cottagers a 2-1 win, with the catalyst seemingly Johan Djourou's red card for a second bookable offence 12 minutes before time.

"Very confusing," was Szczesny's assessment when asked about the defeat.

"I thought for 85 minutes we defended really well with 11 men and they never looked like scoring and then, when we had to play with 10 men, they looked very dangerous.

"I'm very disappointed with the result but hopefully we can recover as soon as possible.

"The fixtures come thick and fast and players get tired and these kind of results can happen.

"We were hoping to take advantage of that. We felt we could [against Fulham] and were disappointed, so hopefully in the coming weeks we can do much better."

Much of the post-match talk revolved around Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's comments, which saw him hit out at Fulham players and referee Lee Probert.

The Frenchman was upset by numerous matters, including Probert's decision not to award the Gunners a penalty after Philippe Senderos fouled Gervinho.

Asked about the decision, Szczesny said: "I didn't see it from my end but from what the lads said in the dressing room it wasn't a penalty claim - it was just a clear penalty.

"It seems like we don't get those decisions these days but, hopefully, next time they'll come for us."

PA