When Barcelona signed Thierry Henry from Arsenal they had a decent idea what they were going to get. Goals, flair, ego.

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They had no idea that on February 23, 2010 his very introduction as a substitute would play a massive part in his side being denied an away win in Stuttgart in their Champions League second round tie.

With the game delicately poised at one apiece, Pep Guradiola brought on Henry to try to capitalise on Barca’s growing momentum. It looked like a master stroke as the pressure mounted on Stuttgart’s goal. Barca were knocking at the door.

One such knock at the door came from Zlatan Ibrahimovich, his powerful effort struck towards goal was saved… not by Stuttgart’s magnificently mental grumpy old man Jens Lehmann (who, incidentally, punched a photographer during the match and then dived over the advertising boards. Honestly, I’m not making this up) but by the elbow of a Stuttgart defender.

Everyone saw it. It was incredibly blatant. Barca appealed and appealed but to no avail, the ref didn’t see it. At which point you might be tempted to say, ah well that’s just the way it goes, sometimes you get them sometimes you don’t.

But not this time. This time it was a combined intervention from the Gods of football and karma. The Gods recognised a small window of opportunity to discreetly slap Thierry Henry on the face. They temporarily blinded the referee just long enough for him to miss the handball, thus reminding Thierry that no one has forgotten than night in Paris.

So to Barcelona a club that we all should admire, I apologise for taking pleasure in this miscarriage of justice/ piece of karmic retribution, your only fault in all of this was bringing Henry off the bench. But on a personal level, ha ha Mr Henry. I’m delighted.