Transfer Latest Thierry Henry

[spareman]

Looks like Henry is gone this time, Sky news and RTE reporting a deal has been done with Barcelona for £16m?
Dont know how you guy's feel but Im gutted.

[gibbo]

gutted myself

great player

but look at the bigger picture , it looked like he didnt want to be there the last while

so 16mill for a 30year old player might be good business after all
and depends who we can bring to replace henry

and van p will be back next season,

so we wont despair just yet

[Irish Gunner]

No player is bigger than the club but £16m is a bargain when you look at the likes of Darren Bent for £17 :roll:

Its now up to RVP and Ade to step up to the plate

Nothing is confirmed yet about Titi but it looks ominous

We will miss his goals but he was never a good captain

Anywho if its true then thanks for the memories Titi :thumbsup:

[Irish Gunner]

Well bye bye then titi :cry:

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2007282228,00.jpg

[okidoki987]

Let's hope we bring some good new players into the squad
quickly as we certainly needed then even before Th made his announcement.

[spareman]

What next? If Wenger does not sign a new contract I predict a mass exodis of our top players. If Wenger has no interest in signing a new deal would it not be better to replace him as soon as possible rather than let the situation destabalise the club further? I am sick henry is gone but at the same time I always wanted to see him play with Ronaldino, and lets face it we would never see that at Arsenal because we wouldn't spend christmas. Personnally I would love it if we made it to the champions league final next year and beat barca haha.

[gunner mick]

im gutted !
but my old man reminded me that im going home for a few days at the end of july ( Im from Dundee in Scotland) and guess who local team Dundee United are playing in a freindly ? f**king Barca ! he bought me a ticket thinking it would be "fun" .

[Kealo]

Like everyone else, I'm sad to see him go. He will always be an Arsenal legend. However, players come and go. My only concern is that his departure could see other players, such as Cesc, leave sooner rather than later, and even, more worringly, Wenger too. Also, I do think that £16m is far too low a figure. Surely we could have demanded more? That said, it could buy a good striker to replace him.

On the plus side, Henry leaving the club means that we'll have a much better captain (Gilberto or Touré), we won't be dependant on him anymore, and it'll give RVP and Ade the chance to take on more responsibility. We got by without him for most of last season. He's nearly 30 and he's not going to be around for that much longer. The pace will go at some stage. At least Barça will have to worry about that, and not us.

Anyway, all the best, Titi. Thanks for 8 great years. :thumbsup:

[spareman]

Heres the situation as I see it, Henry was always going to barcelona, he would have went last year only he felt it would have been a kick in the teeth for arsenal fans having just lost the champions league final to them, and he didn't want to leave on bad terms, as proved by the goodbye video he made yesterday, The only reason he signed a 4 year deal last year was so arsenal can make a few quid on him, What he say's about Mr. Dein leaving is just a convienent excuse at this time, If he really loved arsenal it wouldn't matter who was on the board, Wenger will begin talks this week on a new contract and I would be surprised if he walked away from all he has set up for the future at this stage, I believe he will sign a new deal sooner rather than later, And I believe Mr. Dein will be back at Arsenal before the kick off of the new season with or without the American money. There is no crisis at Arsenal, Henry will be forgotten about quickly when Theo and VP step up to the plate, Henry has created this smoke screen to make it easier for him to leave. And in doing so has created unrest among the remaining player's, Hopefully Wenger will sign a new deal soon and Arsenal can get back to normal asap.

[gibbo]

spareman
whats the crack?
please god wegner will sign a new contract ,sooner the better as the quicker he does the less specalation he will be leaving and we can get new players in

he has put to much work into the new set up, the last thing we need is to have him leaving.

Anelka coming back(mr sulky) i am all for it !!
this man can play ball
and maybe may ease the lose of henry.
and what spare money we have left bring in Babel
henry is gone lets look forward.
look at man u when van the man left they won the league why cant we!!!!
excus the spelling just back form the dubs game!!

[spareman]

Arsenal Have Been Changing for Several Seasons

While Henry’s move will always be big news it is just one more in a series of departures that Arsene Wenger has been grappling with since the ‘invincible’ season. Dennis Bergkamp’s retirement was predictable but the manager did not expect to lose Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell’s sudden loss of confidence was unexpected.

Robert Pires could possibly have played two more years at Arsenal but wanted more than a one year deal initially and this forced Cesc Fabregas to the fore much earlier along with Patrick Vieira’s departure. Despite the early evidence that Vieira may have left at the right time, he’s since become a scudetto winner in Italy.

Most teams would struggle to cope with these losses and it altered the balance and experience of the side behind Henry dramatically. Because of this the time may have come for Arsenal to play in a different way (with two full strikers for instance) rather than with so much dependent on Henry’s wide ranging style and pace.

Like Ian Wright’s time before him, Arsenal were set up to make use of one extraordinary individual. The balance of the Gunners midfield beautifully complemented their French genius and vice versa but without Pires, Bergkamp, Vieira and a declining Freddie Ljungberg, a more varied system is appropriate.


Injuries

When commentators disparage Arsenal for their mediocre campaign in 2006/07 (by their own standards) for some reason the absence of their first choice strike force seems to get minimal attention. Henry appeared in just 17 League games and Robin Van Persie in only 22.

That left Emanuel Adebayor carrying a great deal more responsibility in his first season in the Premiership. He should be better for it in the long term but it did leave Arsenal severely weakened. Take any two strikers from the other top four teams and a similar effect would occur.

With a full squad to choose from in 2007/08, even without Henry Arsenal are likely to be a much more potent attacking force.


Talent At the Club

Arsenal may well have the resources within the squad to pick up much of the slack. There are many clubs who would want the names Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott and Bendtner on the books.

None of these players has the same talent as Henry but as a group they constitute a wealth of developing talent. They offer the option to operate in various ways too.

Walcott delivers searing pace, especially from wide positions while Bendtner is a more traditional central striker; Adebayor drifts across the line and uses a combination of strength and control; Van Persie is less of an out and out front man and more a second striker linking to midfield.

None of them is Henry but then who can be? What they do represent is a tremendous group, well capable of keeping Arsenal safe from some of the more dire predictions coming the Gunners way.


The Replacement

Here we enter the realm of speculation but it would beggar belief that Arsene Wenger has not planned for this eventuality. In fact he has been quietly restocking his forward options ever since 2003/04- the problem is that neither Jose Antonio Reyes, nor Julio Baptista have adapted to English football in the way that Adebayor has.

So Wenger still needs to find another forward – preferably an experienced one- to knit together the relatively young bunch he already has at the club. David Trezeguet and even Nicholas Anelka are names in the frame.

Past results show that Arsenal fans can be confident that the manager will deliver the player he needs.


Verdict

All of the above does not mean Arsenal will be winning the Premiership or reaching another Champions League Final soon but it should allow the Gunners to maintain their position in the top four of English football.

The FA Cup and Carling Cup might have to be the limit of the trophy ambitions in the short term but the Arsenal squad is still in relative good health. The really critical departure would not be Thierry Henry’s but Arsene Wenger’s if it happened.

[spareman]

Gunners chairman rubbishes Henry 'excuse'
27/06/2007 - 07:03:44
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has dismissed as “an excuse” Thierry Henry’s claims that uncertainty surrounding Arsene Wenger’s future prompted his decision to join Barcelona.

Henry completed a £16million switch to the Nou Camp on Monday, 12 months after spurning the Catalan club in favour of remaining with the Gunners.

The France striker decided to move on this week, though, and revealed the situation at the club following vice-chairman David Dein’s departure last season, and the apparent uncertainty over Wenger’s future as manager, were reasons behind his decision.

Hill-Wood, however, told the Daily Telegraph: “I am not particularly worried about what Thierry said but whether it really influenced his decision or not we will have to wait and see.

“We certainly don’t think Thierry Henry going and Arsene Wenger’s contract situation are in any way linked. That was just an excuse.”

Wenger, who has a year remaining on his contract, continues to be linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium – with Barcelona the club most regularly linked – but Hill-Wood hopes the French coach will remain in north London, even if he does not sign a new deal this summer.

“I am really hopeful he will extend but at this moment I am only in a position of hoping,” said Hill-Wood. “I’ve no reason to think that he won’t but at the same time I have no reason to believe he will say yes. Certainly we would like to see him sign a new contract – we have made no secret about that.

“But we have not talked any details about anything with him or the board. We will wait and see what he wants to do. Then we can sit down and discuss things if he is positive about it. I am very relaxed. We are in good shape.”

Hill-Wood, who also said Arsenal “would like to find another player or two” in the transfer market, revealed he has not met with American tycoon Stan Kroenke since their meeting in New York recently.

Kroenke has a 12.19% stake in the club and is expected to mount a full takeover bid but that prospect is another area of uncertainty.

“I have not heard anything further from him [Kroenke] since we met,” said Hill-Wood.

[ErinGoBrath]

Nice post spareman (not the one about Wenger staying, the one before it).

Only thing I'd say is that I think Walcott is years off becoming a first team player. He's spacial awareness and decisions while on the ball are really poor, even for a lad his age.

Looks like Babel will become a Gooner sometime with the next few seasons. Real exciting player, reminds me a bit of Henry. Got man of the match in the U21 euro final too.