Change at Arsenal as Henry moves out

THE will he, won’t he, saga is finally over and Thierry Henry has exited stage left and will begin next season at the Nou Camp for his new club Barcelona.

The hole in the London club he has left seems to be growing wider by each passing day with trophy prospects looking bleak for this coming season.
Chelsea and Manchester United along with Liverpool are pressing ahead with plans for the year whilst Arsenal are standing still.
Henry joined the Gunners in August 1999 for what now seems the bargain of the century for £10.5 from Juventus after starting just 12 games for them.
Playing on the right the Italian Club never saw his potential as an out-and-out centre forward.
That was left to Arsene Wenger who had previously worked with Henry at his time at Monaco.
In fact the players respect for Wenger was so deep that when the manager left he virtually refused to cooperate with the new coach.
He scored 226 goals for Arsenal and helped them to two Championships, three FA Cups and led them to a Champions League final only to miss out on the coveted trophy to his new club, Barcelona.
There has been no question that Arsenal have been a better side when he has played but there is some debate whether players around him are better for his presence. It will be interesting to see how the youngsters will respond to his absence … and it might just be that they blossom.
The events that led up to his departure seem to centre around the fact that he no longer feels the club will be able to compete at the level he desires.
He says that Barcelona were the only club that could tempt him away from the Emirates but this is hard to believe given his thoughts about Arsenal’s future.
 It probably made the decision easier for him given his previous comments about the Spanish club but if he honestly believes that his future did not belong at Arsenal another big side, in my opinion, would have tempted him eventually.
In an interview with France Football, Henry also lamented the departure of David Dein, the vice-chairman who was responsible for Arsenal’s transfer activity. “David Dein’s exit should not have happened; if there was one person who shouldn’t have left Arsenal it’s David Dein,” Henry said.
Mr Dein’s departure started a whole chain of events that must be causing some concern for all Arsenal fans and it is likely that has not ended yet.
If Wenger himself does not commit himself to the club rather than let his final year run out then this season will be filled with uncertainty.
Just ask Manchester United fans what this is like - as they had an awful season when Ferguson said he was resigning.
Wenger is famous for never having broken a contract and so he will be there this season, but as for the next, who can say?
His relationship with Dein and with Henry has been essential to the stability and success of Arsenal and whilst usually no one man is bigger than a club in Henry’s words “these two people are close to being that”.
Perhaps this suggests many conversations, that will remain private I am sure, have taken place over the past six months and they may have all come to the same conclusion that their time together at Arsenal was up.
It also added to the feeling that an era was coming to an end. Henry himself had a very emotional bond with the club.
It normally takes time for a new club to replace those feelings but moving to the Nou Camp and its iconic stature should do that instantly. Playing in front of 100,000 Catalonians with Messi, Et’o and Ronaldino will soon give him that sense of awe he obviously requires.
It is often argued that Wenger has a natural ability to sell players when they have passed their peak and Patrick Viera is the example usually given.
This does not entirely stand up if you consider that the Frenchman has gone on to win two Scudettos with two different clubs and also be part of a French side that got to the World Cup final whilst Arsenal have won nothing since his departure.
This does not sound like a man passed him peak?
Likewise, Henry has been sold for £16.1 million and that appears a bargain when compared to Darren Bent’s move to Tottenham for the same amount. If a poll was taken of every manager in football not many if any would choose the Englishman.
It will certainly be a defining season for Arsenal and it will probably depend mostly on whether Winger commits himself to the new cause.
If he does then it will be the boost Arsenal need and if he does not, then it will be a case of damage limitation until a new regime takes over.
Either way, it is going to be the most volatile time this usually stable club has faced for some time.

By Patrick Cummings
patrick.cummings@blueyonder.co.uk