Jun 23
Sorry I have extremely limited internet access- I’m in the car.
Just wanted to give you guys a space to discuss Thierry Henry’s departure to Barcelona for a mere 16 million pounds.
Sorry I have extremely limited internet access- I’m in the car.
Just wanted to give you guys a space to discuss Thierry Henry’s departure to Barcelona for a mere 16 million pounds.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:11 am
I’ll miss him for sure.
But I think we will build a strong team in his absence. And I’m not interested in Wenger will leave, Cesc will leave storylines.
Arsenal will be dangerous, just wait.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:14 am
Finally. Atleast we can now move on without worry about baby sitting the big baby. One day his excuse is the world cup, then next it’s Dein’s departure and now it’s Arsene. I was getting fade up of his rubbish. It’s about time. Champ doesn’t know where his loyalties lie. He thinks he’s bigger than the club.
Who says Barca is better than Arsenal anyway. Thierry is so not a gunner for life. His loyalties lie with Arsene. What a loser. I hope he fails at Barca. Van Persie and Adebayor are more determined atleast.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:16 am
Gutted. I know many people will disagree, but this is a slap in the face for me. And to let him go for a pittance at that… just rubs the salt in. I appreciate what he has done for Arsenal, but I can’t help but be more than slightly angry. Yes, my friends, OUR captain has abandonded ship. I desperately hope I am wrong, but I feel as though this is just the beginning…
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:27 am
“Mere” £16 million? Who else besides Chelsea would pay more than £20 for someone of his age? Let’s be glad we got the money we did, thank Thierry for an amazing time, and grow some balls and move on.
But really, don’t take this so personally. He deserves respect for all he did for us, and now it’s time for us to show we don’t rely on him for success.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:28 am
Jason is right. The transfer fee is a major sticking point. Obviously hindsight is irrelevant, but given his injury-plagued final season and the much higher value prior to the season, the club lost millions and now have no player (the bloody CAPTAIN!) to show for it. A top player and that fee? Maybe. The fee alone seems awfully low on its own, though. Unless he’s a Replicant nearing the end of his shelf life, there was no reason to unload him in such a way.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:29 am
Henry did alot for the club as well as broke club records he will always be apart of Arsenal. I will miss him but I will not throw out my Arsenal jersy with his name and # just because in the twilight of his career he decided to leave. But Adebayor will never make it we should sell him off as well he has a poor 1st touch and is not very good on the ball. RVP is awsome and will only get better we need to find a solid right footed striker to play on the left keeping RVP left foot on the right
to bad torres decided to stay with ath. mad.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:33 am
Don’t talk shit blob123 - saying Henry is a loser. How about appreciating what he’s done for this club - ok, he’s not perfect but Arsenals greatest ever goalscorer deserves this move to Barcelona if he wants it. I say good luck to him.
I will thoroughly enjoy watching Spanish football next season with - although I must admit it’s starting to look like Galactico City at Barca, which could be a problem for them, but entertainment-wise, brilliant.
Henry hasn’t left for a pittance - £16m rising to £20m depending on appearances, goals scored, trophies won. And don’t forget his £110ka week wages and bonuses etc. that saves Arsenal at least £7m a year.
If Wenger bought Tevez and another top striker would you be gutted or delighted? Most people would say the latter. Be gracious now Henry is gone instead of acting like a spoilt brat.
Football is a team game and about balance, it’s not healthy for everything to revolve around one player.
It’s obvious to me now that Wenger planned to get rid of Henry after the player embarrassed him by dancing on the touchline during the Tottenham match. Henry could have been brought back from injury well before the end of the season, but Wenger wanted this team to develop and grow up without him as quickly as possible.
I’m telling you now, Wenger decided Henry was going 6 months ago - it’s obvious. He knew Barcelona would come back in for him and would have talked Henry out of it if he wanted to keep him.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:35 am
What annoys me about Henry is all this David Dein bullocks he keeps mentioning in his public statements. I can understand it if he means it an indirect sense i.e Wenger leaving because of it, but to suggest that Dein’s departure directly effects him and his teammates happiness is laughable. Henry was just looking for a way out and Dein’s exit gave him the perfect excuse. It unsettled Henry and his teammates because Henry wanted it to unsettle himself and his teammates. He used the media’s hysteria around it to create a fictional tension that was never there. The media can’t call him out on it because it was the media themselves who made a big furoure out if it in the first place.
Anyway, you can’t begrudge Henry the opportunity to ply his trade on the spacious lawns of La Liga. He can enjoy accolades greater than he received at Arsenal- because of the stage- while knowing he has it easier in Spain in regards to scoring goals. It’s a no-lose situation.
As for Arsenal next season, I haven’t got a clue. We’re a mish-mash of tidy players without any defining feature. It’s up to Wenger to find players to give us an identity and edge which was the hallmark of our previous successful teams.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:44 am
Agreed on the Dein comments, Mazza. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing at all than to fumble for excuses or bizarre half-explanations.
Still, though. Let’s be gracious here, as you are Mazza. This move makes sense for Henry personally, and we can’t expect him to sacrifice his own hopes to satisfy us. Thank you, Thierry, and good luck — now let’s move on.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:45 am
awal, Torres hasn’t decided to stay at Atletico, Liverpool had a bid rejected only because the board feel he should go for more than what they offered. I think if the price is right he will go, especially now when they are not in Europe again. And I believe that we will bid for him and finally my long-time dream will come true. Just imagine Fernando Torres and Robin van Persie together.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:48 am
The biggest problem with this is probably that we have to go into pre-season and start the campaign without our captain. That’s really un-good.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:50 am
I just don’t know how can we find a star player who can replace Thierry, when all players know that Wenger might leave the next summer. How he can persuade the players that Arsenal is the right choice for them in this situation is out of my mind. I just hope he will sign new contract as soon as possible and we will finally be able to move on.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:53 am
I am sad to see Henry leave, but I am not crying. It would have been nice if the whole thing wasn’t soured by the excuse/reason Henry gave - DD’s exit. It’s time to move on.
Wenger will stay for a year. If he makes the right signings and Arsenal do well, there is no reason he won’t stay longer. Even if he leaves, he will leave the club in great shape. He has always put the club ahead of himself. He didn’t jump ship because DD left.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:03 am
We simply can not afford to start this season slowly.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:05 am
No, he left because Dein left, Wenger won’t sign an extension, and we won’t sign any big name proven players to get to the next level of winning titles again.
The club is not stable at the moment in the board, in the manager’s position, or on the pitch. That would be a good reason to leave.
As Sheed just stated, how can you attract a big name player to come to the club, if Wenger won’t commit past this season? How does that negotiation go… come to the Arsenal, I am not sure if Arsene’s going to be here after this season, but come anyway???
Yes, if I am a star player, thats what I’d want to get myself into.
Nobody to replace Dein yet, Wenger un-signed past the upcoming season, and the best player is gone to Barcelona because of the internal chaos.
Not too many star players bringing their career into that cauldron of doubt.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 am
I too am sad to see Henry go and this will grow my interest in Barca. That said, I do hope that Arsenal do something to make it appear as though they are firming up for next season. To the outside world, it does not appear as that is happening. I am hopeful with Van Persie returning from injury, but Adebayor has not proven that he is the answer. I
I agree that the Gunners need to begin the season strongly. Hopefully, we will see some signings in the next few weeks which will help bring that about.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:31 am
First of all Henry leaving because of David Dein is absolute crap any fool can see that. David Dein has absolutely no day to day involvement with Thierry Henry whatsoever - Arsene Wenger has. It’s an excuse he made and perhaps the only thing annoying about this transfer is that he has said this instead of just saying he wants to play for Barcelona, which most fans are mature enough to accept.
Second, Wenger has let his contract run down before and didn’t have trouble signing players - are you saying he’s not going to be able to buy anyone this summer then? Spanish managers get sacked even if they win the title or Champions League, under your scenario nobody would join any Spanish club because they wouldn’t know whether the manager was going to be there the next season or not. So yet again your talking out your arse.
Anyway, piss off and support Chelsea after saying Wenger should fuck off if he doesn’t sign a new contract. You ungrateful little turd - nothing you say has any value any more after that statement.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:34 am
I’ve been ignoring all those tabloid press for weeks but when credible sources such at BBC and today Arsenal.com themselves posting this news I guess I’ll have to accept it.
First of all, Thanks for everything you’ve done for us Henry. I guess we cannot expect a player to be waiting for the team to rebuild while he’s near the end of his prime. He’s actually just a few days younger than me, and I understand he might still only have another 2 years or so at the top and maybe another couple years to wind down his career around 33/34. He’s no bergkamp who’s a play maker, so I can’t see Henry still having his pace pass 33/34. Having said that, I will at least give him credit for sticking around for an extra year just to see if Arsenal really did anything on the pitch and in the transfer market to show their ambition. I guess in Henry’s eyes, we didn’t do that this season, and yet again we just bought kids instead of several top class veterans. You could count Gallas and Baptista as a couple of re-enforcement that looked good on paper but shockingly neither of those veterans showed up last season, and thus exaggerating our lack of experienced player performing. The only thing I wish was that we sold him last year and get the $50m transfer as opposed to $16m and NO PLAYER SWAP. In my mind that’s a bad deal but I guess it was Henry who bought out his own contract for $16m rather than Arsenal negotiating that small transfer price.
Secondly, Henry should not use David Dein’s departure as an excuse saying that this has destabilized the club and that he doesn’t want to take a chance at the end of next season to be 31 and possibly not have Wenger at the club. Because by leaving NOW when Wenger is still at the club means he don’t really need him, otherwise he would stay for another season until Wenger decides to leave and follows him to whichever club he goes to. That would make more sense. Just admit that you’re just looking out for your own interest in the end, and not that of Arsenal. You may have been our best player, but certainly not fit to be a proper captain. However, despite the love and hate feeling at the moment, I still wish you good luck in spain. Enjoy all the monkey chants that you’ll be receiving in La Liga. Maybe you’ll finally win a Champions League medal with Barcelona, or maybe we’ll win it next season. Sorta like when Michael Owen left for Madrid wanting European glory, and then Liverpool won it. Just make sure when you get to the Nou Camp NOT to promise anything to your new Barca fans telling them “This is my last contract” and then go sign for Real Madrid next season because Barca ends up trophyless again next season.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:42 am
Hey fellow Gunners. Henry leaving is sad day but not the end of the world. Arsenal as a club have always sold our best players at just the right time, especially in the Wenger era. Henry was a superb player for us and will be missed but we played most of last season without him and we still finished forth and more comfortably than the season before. We are in transition and Henry going takes the enormous shadow cast by him over the rest of the team, out of the equation.
The key is to keep Arsene, in Arsene we trust. As long as we keep Mr. Wenger I have faith that we will be back and stronger than ever! He knows what he’s doing!
I’d like to wish Henry best of luck in Spain, I just hope to God we don’t draw them in the Champ league, because the man is class!! Although it would be nice to say goodbye at the Emirates! He gave us great service and entertainment and I for one enjoyed it all. One the most consistent and gifted players ever to play in The Arsenal red n white! But the club, as always, will go on!
Irish Gooner in LA
June 23rd, 2007 at 12:49 pm
I’m a bit hearbroker as well. Of course Dein’s departure is a bollocks reason for Henry to want to leave too, but I can’t blame TH for wanting to play for Barca either. From here on out, I’m gonna focus only on what Arsenal has to do to replace TH. I guess Torres is staying in Madrid, but who else is available? Cisse? Trez? Carlitos? Anelka!?!?!?! I don’t know. The only thing I DO know is that Arsenal need to sign a proven striker. We’re still very good, but we’re not nearly as good as we were yesterday.
June 23rd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Henry to Barca mirrors Brady to Juve’, superstars leaving at their peak for another team….but think how long ago that was. How many other superstars have left us for someone else? We are and always will be a huge team that attracts the best and keeps them 99% of the time. Brady to me is a legend and a gentleman, I saw him play many times from the N.B and I’m glad he came home. Good luck T.H, all the best, thanks for the memories…..
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Pass the Red Kool-aid, I need help! I am in shock and mourning. But we have known bad times before, but we got through them. TH has been a faithful servant of the team, I don’t begrudge him anything, just hope find someone, anyone who can score goals.
As for AW, it could be worse. At least Sven Goran Eriksson is not on his way….for now.
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I am not going to lie, i did get a little misty-eyed when I went to bed last night after going to the pub and finding out that TH14 was for sure leaving. I woke up this morning saying ‘time to move on, who do we get now’. Now honestly TH14 will forever have a place in my heart and I wish him luck. But no one is bigger than the club. $16mill in transfer is a rip off. If you think of it we have played without TH all year and we ended up tied for third. Look A-dub knows more about football than any of us, he knows when a player is done at arsenal. Same with Vieria, Pires, Overmars the list goes on. We need Aresne to stay bottom line. Many key people at arsenal and does Aresne believe that RVP has always been the long term replacement for TH. I believe that RVP will have his best year.
I will be livid if we go through this transfer window without signinng anyone. If we sign a midfielder or winger and give Gallas more money to stay I would okay with that. Maluda is a prefect midfield signinng for us. Not because he that good of a midfielder, he’s not he is average at best. But in our midfield and his left foot and pace fits with our style of play. As for strikers the options are Torres, Teves, and Eto’o.
Torres is young and looks like rafa will sign him because ‘pool are talking to Ath. mard now about signinng him.
Teves there is no reason why we shouldn’t sign him. He is a great finisher and wants to WIN most of all. And he is already use to the Prem style of play.
Eto’o, look that ball will not be able to get around to everyone in that strike force and some will be unhappy. You can’t have a coach tell a player to get in the game and he says, NO. Someone has got to go either the coach or the player. Eto’o would be nice but he will need a year to adopt to the Prem. One year is to long Cesc will leave after the year is over and won’t wait.
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:54 pm
For the last 18 months he has failed to produce. 24-25million Euros is good price for him.
1. he’ll be 30 in August, already past his peak
2. he’s already prone to injury
3. there is some amazing talent at the club just waiting for a chance.
4. players come and go, we got the best out of him.
Let’s just hope Wenger stays…..
Thanks TH14 - what memories
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:01 pm
As for our next skipper, TH was great, but what other skipper do you know in the Prem has so much drama surrending them every time the transfer window opens up?? I have always wanted a different skipper than TH. Strikers are always prima donas. There aren’t many skippers that are strikers. I would really like to see Kolo as the skipper, but Gilbreto is going to be the skipper and he should be.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I think 16 million pounds are ok but for the recent crazy buys, I was hoping we can get more money something like 24 million pounds.
It is like losing someone you love, you never thought about it, but it happens. From the shock, I still look forward and hope.
I fear TH14 exit would lead to crazy changes or rush changes such as Wenger leaving or Fabregas leaving.
If we take the positive behind it and move on, then Arsenal can actually do much better next year. If we use the money to strengthen the squad. But a striker that can score goals. (Trezigues, ReoCoker, Etou, … ), buy a CB, … built some english presence then Arsenal might end up doing better than the last 2 years.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Forgot to say … I am an Arsenal fan, I am gooner first, then I am a fan of Arsenal players, like Henry or Arsenal’s manager Wenger .. Love both, but love Arsenal more. !!!!
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:06 pm
DannyT, may I ask who do you refering to?
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:08 pm
And Fares, Reo-Coker is a midfielder, not a striker.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
He’s referring to the old rogue that is Stagiola. They’re the Ali/Frazier of Arsenal America.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Actually, I think Fred and Stag are the Ali/Frazier. Sometimes DannyT fills in for Fred.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
One positive out of all this is that this deal done was done today and not on the last of day of transfer season, Aug. 31. AW has plenty of time to get the morale of team right, cement Gilberto as full-time captain and get the team to start strong from game one of the season, Fulham at home on 8/11.
And he has plenty of time to bring in an up and coming striker and get him adapted to the Arsenal style….I don’t think that Arsene’s lack of contract beyond 2008 is a detractor for players coming to arsenal. Playing in the EPL, in the CL and working for AW and being at a top class club will be enough to attract players
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I also believe that as always AW will have a sneaky replacement lined - have faith gooners…..anyway remember our reserve team that thrashed Liverpool at Anfield this year?
Let’s move on and unite.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm
….just had a thought people….it’s not so bad if Wenger leaves, Dennis Bergkamp will be his replacement - that wouldn’t be too bad given that DB10 was AW’s understudy for 10 years, and then Tony Adams would be his assistant.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Gavinio, I hope you are right and I hope that sneaky replacement is ‘El Nino’.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I’d never have Toure as Captain, he’s not great under pressure as it is and I don’t think the extra responsibility would help in that respect. I’d give it Gilberto or Gallas - I think Gallas would be honoured and it would give him license to have a go at players.
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Gilberto is captain - no question
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:00 pm
agreed.
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Thierry Henry on leaving Arsenal on http://www.Arsenal.com
As always, an absolute class act.
I don’t mind the sparring at all, we all have our opinions and favorites.
DannyT continues to be the tough guy behind a keyboard, with personal attacks and name-calling. Thats real tough… face to face would surely be quite a difference… if he did his act in a pub, someone would sort him out quickly.
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:15 pm
…and what does this have to do with the topic in hand? At least start to make some valid comments - the rest of us aren’t that interested in your personal attacks
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
That interview on the Arsenal website brings a tear to the eye.
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Still gutted. Wenger has turned so many bright players into heroes and at Arsenal he has seen them grow, get better and eventually leave.
Now all those 4 frenchmen that produced memorable moments are gone - PV, Henry, Wiltord and Pires. Dennis left last year and not sure how long Freddie will be around for. Changing of the guard really….
What next?
June 23rd, 2007 at 4:06 pm
A few thoughts.
1. We have been here before - Ian Wright was our all-time scorer when he left. However, just like Henry (Van Persie scoring more and Henry injured), he had been eclipsed in his last season (mostly by Bergkamp).
2. The non-Chelsea going rate for a 29 year old striker top-scoring in the Premiership has gone from the 10 million paid by Real Madrid for Van Nistlerooy to the 16 million rising to 20 million paid by Barcelona this season.
3. I know, don’t compare the two, Henry is a bigger player etc.etc. But look at the statistics in another way. The percentage of Utd. goals scored by Van Nistleroy during his career there was if anything slightly higher than the percentage of Arsenal goals scored by Henry. After selling Horseface, Utd. won the League so all is not lost.
4. Thanks for the memories, Thierry. Thanks for the memories Denis, Liam, Ian, Marc and Patrick too etc.
5. I don’t believe managers when they are interviewed and I don’t believe players most of the time either. Occasionally, you can get an unguarded moment from someone but mostly little is said that is without an agenda. Thierry wants to be remembered as a good guy. He also wants everyone to believe he left at the top of his game and wasn’t shipped on. His farewell soft focus interview is an attempt to make suckers out of fans (and Stag, you seem to have fallen for it) who believe everything he says. Maybe it was his decisions but I doubt it. Hopefully, the real reasons will become apparent over time.
6. I agree with Danny. I think Wenger made up his mind that he could sell him months ago. I also think that the injuries to Van Persie and Walcott also helped him on his way. Wenger wouldn’t want to start next season with three strikers coming back from injury and fretting whether any or all would ever be the same. Getting rid of the one least likely because of age to come back to full form was a safe bet.
I am sad but not bitter and certainly not devastated. An Arsenal great has left, possibly the greatest, but progress only happens with change. I trust Wenger to make the changes. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I am happy that the decision has been made with the best interests of Arsenal in mind. As I said on another thread, I am an Arsenal fan. That has outlived the departures of Brady, Stapleton, O’Leary, my players of the 70s and 80s, it has also outlived Thomas, Rocastle, Seaman, the back four especially Adams, Ian Wright, Bergkamp, Vieira, Petit, Overmars and it will outlive Henry.
June 23rd, 2007 at 4:26 pm
1. I wanna give credit to Titi for one thing though - at least he made up his mind early. Whether AW be able to find a replacement is one thing, yet by letting us know on June, Henry has at least given the team TIME to prepare the new season without him.
2. At the heat of his departure, I think it’s difficult for us to put things in perspectives. I am sure giving time, most of us will eventually forgive Henry for his ship-jumping act, particular consider he was the SKIPPER. Should a skipper be the last one to jump a sinking ship?
Anyway, no matter what, Thierry Henry surely is the GREATEST player I ever seen in an Arsenal shirt. And among one of the GREATEST players, if not the GREATEST I ever seen playing in English football.
This, no one will take that way from him.
June 23rd, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Aww diddums, Stag’s got the hump because I told him to fuck off and support Chelsea after he told Wenger to fuck off or sign a new contract. Spot the contradiction.
If you don’t like it Stag find another forum for your veiled threats written in the third person. I’m here - if you got something to say say it to me!
If you write crap expect to get crap back, and if you haven’t the intelligence to defend your point of view then stop whining like a little girl. Every pre-season you’re the same - I mean follow American football, bang your wife, do something or other but stop filling this place with your steaming turds. I’m not the first person to tell you you’re about as loyal an Arsenal supporter as Alan Sugar and I’ll doubt I’ll be the last.
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I am horribly gutted. Im a surgeon and was on call today operating on a ruptured aorta, after finishing I logged on to newsnow and saw the reports thinking it was just the usual tabloid crap. when I saw it on bbc and arsenal.com, I almost had tears in my eyes.
I love henry for what he’s done for the club. Ive loved watching him play. I loved watching him score for us and the pride he showed for the club. I couldnt think of anyone more arsenal in the last few years. a true her of highbury. But times change. Its clear he was unhappy. he was our captain, but it was a troubled captaincy. It was clear he regretted not joining barca last year. a true arsenal captain wouldnt have complained and looked elsewhere when times were hard, he would have pushed the boys harder and inspired us to overcome impossible odds. Sadly, this was not TH14. That is not to downplay his importance to the club. He was great and we owe him a lot. I think he himself would admit that Arsenal gave him just as much back.
It is the end of an era and its sad. I miss Highbury. I miss Paddy. I miss Bobby. I miss Dennis more than anyone. I will miss Henry. Right now Im unhappy with him. I feel like Ive been dumped. In time I will look back on him again as a hero, but for now Im mad at him. Yeah, I understand his point. He wants to win. He wants to play with superstars. In someways I think that he has become a bit full of himself and a bit too big for his britches, but hell look at was he’s accomplished, look at how consistant he’s been for years. I guess he’s earned that right.
What makes me more sad is what this holds for the future. If Wenger and arsene both recommitted themselves to the club, it would go a long way to silence the doom and gloomers. Unfortunately this has not happened. I hope Arsene doesnt leave us, but I cant help but think that the board is to blame. I dont know the details of DD leaving, but I think it wasnt handled properly. This chaos and uncertainty have stemmed from troubles in the board room. Now I think Dein leaving is merely a convenient excuse for Thierry to leave. He’s not happy here anymore and thats fine.
Im just scared of what this means for the future of the club. We hate to be a selling club, but its not the first time that its happened. Dealing with the next year will prove to be arsene’s greatest challenge. I hope he is up for it.
Now Im off to sulk like my fallen hero
Thierry you are an amazing footballer. thank you for what you’ve helped give. I will miss you
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Well I can’t even muster enough to go the pub. I’m still in shock. Yesterday’s venting didn’t do the trick, I suppose. Until we make some signings, I will be on pins and needles. But like some of you have said, we have to unite - we have to trust in AW, and we have to hope that our young gunners realize that they no longer have to TH to bail them out…they have to step up their game.
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Very well article ahmad. Pretty much summed up everything I have in mind.
After reading many posts on this site of folks’ reaction, I think we can pretty much sum it up into a short sentence -
That most of us LOVE Henry, love all the brilliant moment he brought to us, yet at the same time, feel LET DOWN big time that he left, particular at a time when we probably NEED him more than ever.
And sometimes, when ppl upset when a certain someone left the club, more often than not, because we LOVE him. Certainly don’t remember anyone shed a tear when Cygan left.
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Oh boy… Where to start?
Thanks for the memories Titi. I am sad to see him go but it was time. His little drama was becoming a distraction to the whole team. Every time he got injured or didn’t score he was villified as a baby who was past it. When he played well it was a fluke. He couldn’t win for losing.
That said the Dein crap is just that. He is being paid millions to PLAY A GAME in front of millions of adoring fans. Now he gets to go to sunny Spain where he will have more time on the ball and grow his legend. Poor Th14. Poor Arsenal.
Henry will do fine in spain and i will enjoy watching him. Arsenal will still be top 4 in england and someone new will emerge to take his place. NOT fill his shoes. There are maybe 3-5 strikers on earth at the moment who could even lift his jock!
Oh and Danny & Stags y’all are infuriating and funny at the same time. Both obviously Know your football and im always eager to read you related comments but f&a grow up a bit will ya! The least you could do is try to be clever instead of blunt and foul! but if not i’ll keep reading and laughing.
GO GUNNERS!!!!!!!!
June 23rd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
lol - I can’t believe anyone who says they were shocked by Henry’s departure. Mildly surprised, not shocked. Football is a game, sit back and relax.
June 23rd, 2007 at 7:39 pm
I agree completely with you Andez. Its interesting to contrast Thierry with DB10. Dennis stayed with us. He stayed with us as long as he could. He was a legend and ensured he would remain a legend. If I was Henry, I would rather be a hero and a legend for the club I love than transfer for the hopes of more glory. Now Im totally biased. For me there is only one club. Im feeling very fever pitch today
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:23 pm
This is a sad day for Arsenal football club. To lose a player of that calibre and for a pittance. Who else is worth 16m pounds and be top scorer for the club over multiple seasons? What is Wenger going to do now? How the f*ck is the board going to remedy the situation? Arsenal has gone from weakness to weakness over the past 2 seasons starting with the departure of Vieira. I’ll continue to support the team but must now lower my expectations - unless Wenger comes up with someone really special. In my book, the only silva lining is that Gilberto will inherit the captain’s armband and I think he is a much better captain than Henry.
June 23rd, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Word is Grimandi is going to get the Director of Football Operations position. I think this is excellent news for the Gunners. He has been working as a scout for a while now. I have heard that he has been involved in negotiations in the past. So he has a reasonable amount of experience. He is also very close with Wenger. I think this will be a very smooth transition and great news all around.
June 24th, 2007 at 2:00 am
It’s quite clear what needs to be done to start healing the gash this creates — before it gets bigger.
If the club is to be successful this year (as well as for the next few years) then Wenger needs to make a commitment now. Regardless of whom they bring in, he’s putting the morale as well as the unit cohesion of this young club that he’s so painstakingly assembled by not doing so.
First and foremost, without AW’s commitment, Arsenal are going to have a hard time getting some solid transfers to try and fill this newly opened void before the season is underway.
Hill-Wood needs to get that guarantee from AW, and he may have to do a dance to get it. If it means letting Wenger handpick the guy he wants in the Director’s seat, well then let him. If it means following through with what Dein reportedly pushed for (letting Kroenke buy more of the club) then do it — it’s going to take something along those lines to keep up with things financially anyway — Liverpool and United have already figured that one out. The EPL is is quickly starting to look like MLB. And if that’s the case, we’re going to need bigger pockets.
I want Wenger as manager. Henry is gone and that’s a tough pill to swallow, but Arsenal still have one hell of a manager and plenty of talented boots on the pitch. The healing needs to begin quickly. Otherwise, this could set things into a tailspin and I don’t really think that AW wants to see it fall apart.
The sun will come up in the morning. Let’s all hope it brings some good news with it.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Its a bit of a shock really but I guess I should have seen it coming with the way Titi was conducting himself recently. Anyway there’ve been a lot of views up above me and instead of remembering and slating Thierry for leaving us in a mess and talking some nonsense about rats jumping off a sinking ship I’d just like to
– Thank Titi for all the wonderful moments of magic that he’s given us over the years
– Thank him for being such a major part in influencing the club I chose to support 6-7 years ago
– Wish him all the very very best at Barcelona, he deserves nothing less
– Appeal to the Arsenal fans to never boo him incase he plays against us
He is class through and through and as for the David Dein story which people are not buying. I ask why aren’t you buying it?? Its a well known huge fact that Titi n David Dein n company got along very well together. Isn’t Titi even close to David Dein’s son or something? He would have a lot more inside information and goings on than us.
While its not fully true that this was the only reason I have every reason to believe that this was one of the many reasons that Thierry chose to leave Arsenal. Every one of his comments makes perfect sense and while I always wished he would stay on forever and fit into the DB10 role as his legs went from him I guess it lays even more impetus on RVP and Ade now and whoever the super super class player we are buying is. We need to buy someone now — I dont know who. Anelka,Babel,Huntelaar,Torres…who knows?
Meanwhile I’m still a Gunner with or without Thierry and I guess the age old adage will now be fully tested…”No player is bigger than the club..the club is the biggest”. Is Arsenal bigger than Thierry henry? — YES .. Is Arsenal bigger than Arsene Wenger — I dont know…I’d say NO .. not just yet..in 3 years time YES but before that AW needs to stay..seriously.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:42 am
What do you mean Arsenal is not bigger than Wenger. Stop being daft, he has been the club’s best manager ever, but other managers have won big trophies at Arsenal. Where would Wenger be without George Graham? Not only did Graham win almost as many trophies, in fact Arsenal went a whole season and losing only 1 game with him in charge, but he also presented Wenger with the famous back 5 - the platform for Wenger’s success.
Arsenal is Arsenal, employees are employees. Some do better jobs than others, so do amazing, great things, but no-one is bigger than Arsenal.
June 24th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Danny…its all very well sitting there and writing aggressively and in a business like manner. Calling me daft is also something I can accept as your opinion..thats fine.. not that I agree though for simple reasons which I’m sure you’ve grasped.
Is Arsenal bigger than Wenger? … ofcourse YES..it always will be. At this juncture though with such a young squad who are all here PRIMARILY because of Wenger his going could be disastrous for the growth of the squad. No i didnt watch GG though i did watch Tony Adams lif the trophy once…my first year as an AFC fan. Try and put things into perspective before attacking or debating a point. You should know better than to take every word literally.
Just 1 more thing…being a realist is great .. it helps you put things into perspective ..much better than others….the problem is that there’s a very fine line between realism and cynicism and your posts here in this thread have leant towards being cynical IMO(b4 u defend yourself). You mention once …
“Football is just a game..sit back and relax” and then call me daft. If its just a game then why take it so seriously.Why not disagree peacefully? Maybe its not “Just a game” Danny… its more than that… Arsenal is more than that .. you don’t need to admit it… but you know it else you wouldn’t be so passioonate albeit in a different way about Arsenal. Tell me I’m wrong.
June 24th, 2007 at 7:43 am
I don’t want AW to leave but he may want another challenge, there are others who could do the job. Who ever heard of Wenger before he came to Arsenal? We had Bruce Rioch and he was not the man for the job. If another guy comes in, it may take time to adjust but we can still be up there challenging.
No one can hold Arsenal to ransom, either stay and fight or jump ship.
June 24th, 2007 at 7:59 am
You’re missing the point. I am not saying AW can hold Arsenal at gunpoint. Far from it. I’m just saying he is very very critical to Arsenal’s future right now in the short term with so much youth. Its easier to stabilize after a coach is left if players are old enough like the back 4 and stuff. With an average age of under 25, a goalkeeper at 37 who will leave next year a midfielder who might well leave as well next year to play in Brazil and a winger who’s injured most of the time as your only players and might leave as well above 25 its critical that AW stays..till the kids grow up…thats all I’m saying.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:35 am
live, what you say has much merit…
Wenger is such an integral part of the club right now, that if he were to go, it is very likely players would follow him right out the door. So if he is leaving at the end of next season, Cesc has already said if Wenger goes, so does he, that he is here because of Arsene. I would imagine there are a few other players with the same thoughts.
So Arsene Wenger is a BIG part of the club. Bigger than the club and all that figurative speech doesn’t mean crap to me… it would affect the club negatively in a large manner if Wenger left, just like Henry leaving leaves a hole on the pitch. No, the club won’t shut down … and hopefully, we’ll bring in a few players to fill the holes we have, but it is not as simple as “star out, player x in, manager out, new manager in… everything is wonderful”…
Your point is quite valid.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:04 am
There is an answer how we can keep Fab4 happy even if Wenger leaves.
There is a player in Spain, a striker, somethimg we lack at the moment with the sale of Henry, who is a great friend of Cesc’s, and I believe if he is here Cesc would be very happy to stay. His name is Fernando Torres.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Wenger is staying !!!
Who should we buy to cover Henry? What do you think ?
1- No body we have enough strikers: Theo, Bettender, RVP, Ade
2- Fernando Torres
3- Trezigues or Anelka or Owen or some late 20’s known striker
4- A young striker or winger that will be the new Henry (like Babel)
Whoever comes to play in his shoes, will have to work hard and score sooo many goals to get the gunners fans accept him.
The question: Will Henry shine over there in Barca or not ?
Henry will not be so much under pressure. With Ronaldinho, Etou, Messi, … he is not the only star, also they paid only 24 million E - which is nothing for Barca.
I hope Arsenal can make some money from the sale of Reyes or use him to swap Torres with some money. Though, I dont think Torres will be any good at Arsenal. He might be just another soft player like Reyes.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:22 am
GILBERTO or TOURE for captain! I hope Wenger selects the right captain this time that can really motivate the rest of our team! I thinks that’s the problem in the last two seasons, Henry was not right for the job!
June 24th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Fares, I expect Theo to play on the wings for a couple of seasons more, so we are short upfront with only Ade, RvP and the unproven Bendtner. And don’t forget that Ade is off in January to play for Togo in the ANC, that means we will have two striker for about a month and what if one or the both of them are injured at that time. So we need a new striker, that’s for sure.
Trez is 30 and wouldn’t be a good buy, Anelka is a great player but I don’t know if Wenger will buy him again, not after what he had done to him before and Owen is injury prone, with him you never know.
So Torres is the best solution there is, and believe me he wouldn’t be another soft player like Reyes. Hell, even Reyes wasn’t that soft, he fought for every ball and wasn’t affraid from the opposition like some people think. Bring Torres here and he will be lethal.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:32 am
There hugely overrated striker in Spain. He has a swanky and catchy name and people reel it off as the next great player when the evidence indicates there is nothing special about him at all. He has zero pace and his goal record is unremarkable. He is apparently friends with everyone from Cesc Fabregas to the Pope. His name is Fernando Torres.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:34 am
wenger is far more critical to the team at this point in time than henry, and wenger’s value to the gunners grows exponentially over the next 3 seasons while th14’s would have only decreased, exponentially, over the same time. 24-5m euro is a shade low, but one more injury next year would have yield us not even 15m euro in next off season’s transfer market and, more importantly i think, squelched a year of development for one of the younger lads…
th14 provided more heart stopping saturday morning’s than i could ever thank him for, but this is a business and the gunners have their minds where it should be, on the future…develop the stable of young talent now, KEEP WENGER AT ANY COST!!! and we will survive this the same as we have viera, cole, and the lot…
June 24th, 2007 at 11:39 am
:))))))))))))))
Mazza you made me laugh man.
But I disagree with you. Torres has plenty of pace, not like Henry, but when you think better there is just no one like Henry at the moment, he is not overrated, he just needs a fresh start, a change and you’ll see the real Fernando Torres. He will end up in the Premier League, whether it’s with us, Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester, and you will see his real worth.
June 24th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I hope we get a player whose name is comprised entirely from some of the letters below, so that I can have them adjusted on my current jersey to spell it.
E.E.H.H.I.N.R.R.R.T.Y.
Erin Rerthny (a nice sounding Gaelic Irish name) or something to that effect.
I’ve learned to bend like a Willow tree in the wind instead of snapping off limbs like the mighty Oak. Just rolling with the punches - which doesn’t mean the blows don’t hurt.
It would have been nice to send Henry off as the club did with Bergkamp but alas soccer players seem to have ascended in importance beyond the significance of the club.
As fans we’ll always be loyal to Arsenal where ever TH14 plays.
As a cup is half-full kinda of guy: who knows maybe after Barcelona, Tom Cruise will buy him to play for his then L.A. Galaxy team alongside Becks and we’ll get to see him play in Toronto.
Bye TH14, hope we slaughter you next year in the Champions League.
June 24th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Torres looks better for Spain than for Athletico Madrid. He has descent pace and fast feet. If he were to come to Arsenal he’d prove a threat by the end of the season. My main concern is he’s a bit hot under collar and may get himself sent off simply because of the physical nature of the league. Another concern is how would he fare against Bolton, Blackburn or a Sheffield Utd type team in the dead of winter.
June 24th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
joshuad, if you ask me, we can’t be sure with any player how he would fare aganst those teams in the dead of winter.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
My main concern for the upcoming season is how will team preparation go without our team captain in the camp? We will have pre-season, CL qualifiers, and start the EPL season with no Gilberto. He has to come back and lead the team after a second consecutive busy summer leading his country. When Vieira left, we’d already begun pre-season with PV4 leading the team. Then all of a sudden the team’s heartbeat was removed. Like Andez said and I demanded, at least the captain stated his intentions early to prevent a repeat of that.
You guys know I’m big on leadership and have heard my gripes about Henry ever since the very day Wenger announced him as captain. One thing I’ve noticed is that Wenger is not only bringing in young, talented players but most of them have been leaders and champions at some point. Fabregas captained the youth team at Barca, Senderos in the Swiss U-19’s, Carlos Vela for the Mexican U-19’s, Rosicky at Dotrmund and Czech senior team, and even Denilson was captain for Brazil’s U-21’s. He’s definitely building this team full of leaders and winners.
That’s important because when the going gets incredibly tough it’s good having players who are not afraid to step up, take charge, and be accountable. With that calibre of player throughout the team, someone would have seen this or that scenario before and will know how to win that game we’re probably supposed to lose. That’s what leadersip provides and that’s what champions do.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
live_dont_exist - sorry if I called you daft, even if what you said was daft. The trouble with the Internet is that you cannot measure the force of intent behind a negative comment.
I am very laid back and there is rarely if ever any venom or anger behind what I say even if it could be interpreted as an insult. That goes for anyone, including Stag - I don’t care enough to hate anyone.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Is this (selling Henry) a sign that Wenger might be going to the 4-5-1 more often next season? Perhaps he’s going to play Van Persie/Hleb on the left, Adebayor up top & then Walcott/Ljungberg on the right.
My point is if he plays 4-5-1 more often next season then having the 4 strikers right now (Van Persie, Adebayor, Bendtner, Vela or a “lesser” buy) may be enough to go w/o buying a Tevez type of player or he’s going to convert somebody else to play up top (e.g. Ljungberg or Walcott)
Either way, I agree with DannyT (seems to happen a lot these days!
), if you believe the Dein excuse for leaving then Arsenal’s going to finish mid-table next season. Yes, that was a unsubtle subtle shot at you, Stag. Plus, you’ve got to be a pretty ungrateful, selfish piece of something really vile & smelly to want to tell Wenger to go feck off. I kind of think Mr. Wenger would tell you to go eat some of the merde you’re spewing, Stago.
New bet, Stag, the same $100 offered to you for me saying that Arsenal will not finish mid-table next year (7th-13th). Be careful though, Stag b/c I’m a sneaky sucker. I have 2 chances for Arsenal to not finish mid-table- finishing above 7th & below 13th. Kapow, don’t mess with the wily devil.
Furthermore, good luck to Henry at Barca. How fun would it be to knock Barca out of the ECL next year?
June 24th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Mid-table? We will finish above Liverpool and I do believe that we have what it takes to challenge for the title.
And Curt, you are maybe right, Wenger might decide against signing a new striker and play 4-5-1 next year. We still have Ade, RvP and Bendtner to play up top with Vela waiting on the wings for a place. But we should wait and see, if we sign a new striker I expect Wenger to field his 4-4-2 formation, and if we don’t, well 4-5-1 is the answer.
June 24th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Curt, I have heard / read… Henry is going nowhere repeatedly, he’s gone.
I have heard / read… Wenger is going nowhere… rumors ripe everywhere.
So everything on this site is pure conjecture and opinion.
If we do not bring in anyone from this point forward, I will bet you $100 that we finish 7th or worse… but it is JUNE still, and I am hoping and praying that Wenger will buy someone who is over 17 years old, and instead of having potential, can actually play football at this level.
If we were to somehow, some way, get Tevez, we’d be looking pretty decent. But I don’t think the exit door has shut, and I think there will be some additional waves to fly at the Arsenal ship. There is more going on than is being said, obvioulsy, and some of what is being said is veiled.
Come August, if we have Wenger still here, and have added proven players, we can compete for 4th place… if we bought a few star players, maybe 3rd… depending upon what Liverpool do.
If we stand with what we’ve got, I’ll bet you in a heartbeat.
You wanna bet Henry scores 20+ goals for Barcelona?
How about that Barcelona win their league?
June 24th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
“If we do not bring in anyone from this point forward, I will bet you $100 that we finish 7th or worse”
Fine. That’s the point of offering you the bet. However, I’m betting you what your original claim was- that we are a mid table team w/o Henry. You don’t like the bet, don’t take it, but that was your claim. I’m betting you on your claim.
“You wanna bet Henry scores 20+ goals for Barcelona?
How about that Barcelona win their league?”
Sure, we’ll go $50 & $50 on each. I’ll take the under on Henry (19 or less) & I’ll take Barca to win the league.
June 24th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
To win La Liga too not the ECL
June 24th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I mistyped again- I’m betting you that we finish 6th or higher in the EPL w/o Henry. You want to change the bet, fine, but that was not the original (i.e. your) claim.
June 24th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Curt, we could bring in 3 star players, and it would change the entire team.
The point being, that with the CURRENT TEAM, and NO HENRY, we are mid-table.
I don’t back down on that, but its June, and I’d like to hope we don’t go with what we have. if we are stupid enough to go with the current team, we aren’t finishing about 7th.
I KNOW Barca are winning their league… so if you want the rest of LaLiga, OK.
I am saying they WILL WIN, and HENRY WILL SCORE 20.
June 24th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Stag, are you saying that our current players(without Henry) are worse than the players of Blackburn, Spuds, Bolton, Newcastle, Everton… Think twice man!!!
June 24th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
If Henry can score 20+ goal in the EPL every year, then he can score 40 goals in Spain. Henry played less than half our league games and was unfit all season yet he still managed 10 goals. Imagine him fully fit. Barcelona create as many chances as Arsenal and scoring goals will be much easier in Spain than in England.
Do the names Kanoute, Forlan, and Baptista put things in perspective? Look at what they did in Spain compared to England. What do you think Henry can do? If he’s fit, there’s no way he won’t score at least twenty goals.
June 24th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Absolutely nothing surprising about Henry at Barca. I have suspected it since that Sp-rs game he was “rested” for.
The Arsenal legend wanted a new challenge, and I cant begrudge him that.
But as almost everybody else on here as said, the excuse about Dein and Wenger is utter bullocks. In Spain the managers and directors have far less stability.
Also Wenger having one year left means nothing with regards to attracting players. Bayern, Milan, Barca, Madrid, Chelsea, Inter, Juve ALL have coaches who can be sacked this summer or the next !!! And that doesnt stop them in the transfer market.
All in all, I think if we make the right moves and bring in two new very good talent we will be good.
We can take heart from the fact that the two most successful teams in Europe last season both lost their main strikers last summer and went on to success the following season. Man U and AC Milan.
June 24th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
stag, u are really a bit retarded arent u??
u say it so many times and each time u still manage to annoy me because its so baseless. henrys 10 goals was all we needed to get to 4th place with about 5 games remaining before the end of the season. so without those his 10 goals we will suddenly drop from a VERY comfortable 4th place to lower than 7th????
so you really are telling us that without henry we are getting only about 50 points next season??????
you really are an un-objective idiot!
June 24th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Fred, take it easy on Stag man.
I agree with you that Thierry’s contribution was 10 goals last season and you are saying there are many strikers that will score 10 goals without a problem, but you seem to forgot that Thierry scored that goals in 17 games.
Now, can you find a striker that can score 10 goals in 17 games without a problem? I don’t think so.
At the end, I still agree with you that we are a top 4 team, even without Henry, hell, I say we will finish 4th even if Wenger doesn’t sign anyone.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
it doesnt matter how many games he played. we are only considering his overall contribution to 4-th place last season. so there are many strikers who can replace that number of goals.
without any signings, we will qualify for 4th place again with 3 or 4 games to go.
but 4th place is not good enough so we need to make strategic signings to challenge Man U and chelsea properly. Two or three very good buys would do very well.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Torres is IMO overrated. He does not have the pace of Henry but then, who does?! He tends to drift in an out of games and I don’t see him in the thick of action during the winter months. He is more of a finese type of player prefering a flick here and there - nice to watch but wouldn’t go far in the EPL - ask Baptista. He will be like Reyes in terms of falling on the slightess knock. Problem is, he will not get any favours from EPL refs unlike in Spain. Torres is better off staying in Spain or playing in Italy.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Fred, you are wrong mate. It does matter how many games he played, coz in the games where he wasn’t available other players got the start and scored how many goals? Their contribution was very low and imagine if Thierry played the whole season, he would have scored 20+ with easy and we would have been in a better position at the end. Imagine if he didn’t play at all and all the responsibility fell to Ade and RvP(although he did a great job while he was healthy). Ade can hardly score 10 goals in a whole season, let alone in 17 games.
And tell me, who had a bigger contribution(scoring-wise), Ade or Henry.
Ade is one of the players that you mentioned who can score 10, but for a whole season, Thierry does that for half season.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
look sheed, i am not talking about who is better than who. henry is obviously far better than adebayor. i am just taking his sole contribution to our 4th place. that is all i care about in THIS argument with stag - henrys contribution to 4th place - and that is 10 goals - whether he scored it in 100 games or 10 games is a bit irrelevant to this particular argument.
am just trying to keep away doom mongerers with facts! lol
June 24th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Henry might score 40 goals in La Liga next season as joshuad suggests. Arsenal might finish lower than fourth which Stag suggests. Both are very long shots.
I am willing to bet that neither happens. Keep some perspective. Van Persie and Adebayor may not be candidates for World Player of the Year, but Keane, Mido, Defoe and Berbatov won’t make the top 200 for World Player of the Year. And Spurs finished fifth, a good distance behind Arsenal. Will they really improve enough?
If the average age of the players left at Arsenal was 33, you could make a good case that performances would decline without Henry. As the average age is closer to 23, a better case is that they will improve. An incremental improvement by all eleven players will be enough to make up for Henry’s departure. I am not saying that will happen but if an incremental improvement is made by all eleven and one or two (say Adebayor showing Drobga-like improvement or Rosicky turning into Pires) were to show dramatic improvement, the team would be better than last season.
We need another striker as we have lost Henry, Aliadiere and Lupoli but only gained Bendtner. We need a left-sided midfielder as well. Anelka and Babel would improve the squad. Some of the other names would transform it. But let’s see. No rash predictions of a collapse or of a title. Even Stag is back-tracking saying that he will wait to see who we sign.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Fred, now read this well.
You are saying we can find a striker who can score 10 goals(the same contribution as Henry). But he would do that for the whole season, while Henry did that for 17 games and left 21 games for another player to score as many as he can.
Now let’s say van Persie scores 18 goals in 38 games;
Henry scores 10 goals in 17 and a third player scores 7-8 in the remaining 21 games.
That’s 35-36 goals from the strikers
Is that the same with this one
Van Persie scores 18 in 38
the new striker scores 10 in 38 games
that’s 28 goals from the strikers
The difference is 8 goals and you see it does matter Fred.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
If Wenger signs another striker, it’s 4-4-2. If he sings a winger, it’s 4-5-1. Why not sign both and be flexible? Wenger was looking to replace Reyes and now he needs to replace Henry too. I would be surprised if he doesn’t sign two.
But the question still remains if he needs to sign a defender. I am with those who think he should. No Kolo + Eboue for the ACN coupled with one injury to Gallas during the same time could derail us. But my hopes are not high after that Norwegian kid we signed.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
As for Anelka, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
+ good striker
+ suited to the Arsenal style
+ acclimatised to England (multiple times)
+ Wenger knows him well
+ not expensive (assuming 11M as quoted in the papers)
- not the right attitude
Wenger will decide.
June 24th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
A few more negatives to Anelka I think, like:
+ Moody fucker in the dressing room
+ Totally non-committed to every club he’s ever played at
+ The Arsenal fans will struggle to like/support him
+ Scored 12 goals last season - exactly the same as “couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo Adebayor”
June 24th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Fred, because my opinion is very different from yours, and my perspective is different, I must be “retarded”.
Whatever you say mate.
You see it how you want. I saw this team without Henry, lose to the dregs of the EPL. They can be beat by anyone on any given day. You think because the kids are a year older, that makes them better.
Well… if we have the same team, and its Cesc that goes down this year or Gilberto… for the season, or even RVP… then the team would be DONE.
Send off some key players to the ACoN… add it a few KEY injuries, which we have had every year for the past few… and you have a poor season.
Yes, same team as last year, without Henry… call it retarded, because you don’t like it… I say we’re battling for 5th, 6th, 7th…
Other teams ARE going to get better. They aren’t standing pat, and didn’t lose their top player/scorer/captain.
Let’s see who we bring in. Let’s see who is sent over to replace Henry and strengthen the squad. I hope and pray we are bringing in somebody, ’cause the current team, without Henry, ain’t winning SHITE.
June 24th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Danny, don’t forget that Anelka plays for a defensive minded team like Bolton which is happy with a 1:0 win, while Ade plays for Arsenal, the team that created by far the most chances in the Premiership last season. So, you can’t compare them in that respect.
June 24th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Henry was also moody. As football365 says - Anelka to replace Henry and keep Arsenal’s moodiness levels steady.
Commitment is a difficult issue. Was Henry committed last year? Didn’t he leave after “committing” himself just a month back? Is Cesc committed to Arsenal or Arsene?
I doubt Wenger will be thinking if Arsenal fans will like him or not. How many liked Ade to begin with?
The goals issue is the interesting one. Though both have scored 12 in total, Anelka has 11 in the league, Ade has 8. Not to mention, Arsenal create lot more chances.
As I said - it’s Wenger’s call.
June 24th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Stag, I don’t think Barcelona will necessary win the title just because they bought Henry.
I am not saying Henry will not be a good help. He’s a great player, of course he will be a great help for them. But problem is football is never a “fantasy” managment game stuffs like that.
For instance, Eto’o said “come and join us Thierry!”…. sure, so he can sit on the bench?
Or Barcelona is only to start Henry and Eto’o together? Then with Ronaldinho, Deco, Messi, the “AWESOME FIVE” playing together on the starting lineup? Sounds like a DREAM TEAM to me…. but it also sounds like a Real Madrid (a few years back) all over again to me… all attack and no defence.
So who’s going to do the DIRTY WORK? Who’s going to track back and help out the defence?
A winning team must have a good BALANCE. Be it on the pitch or the dressing room.
u may argue, Barca doesn’t necessary have to start all five of them, they could put someone on the bench. But those are all SUPERSTARS, they are not the youngsters who are willing to wait on the bench.
from what i known, Barca perfer to play a lone striker, with 3 attacking midfielders behind him in support. So it’ll be likely either Eto’o will have to sit on the bench, or Henry shifted to left side attacking midfield, or drop deep playing behind Eto’o.
So let’s wait and see if a FANTASY team can really win the league in reality.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
btw, I don’t know why some of u guys always bring up that Norwegian kid we bought and gave some sticks for Wenger out of it?
As if he is our “major signing” of the summer, and AW will stop buying anyone else because he had spent all our transfer budget in that kid.
The kid is going straight into the YOUTH team, like Cesc, Senderos did years ago. So what’s the problem there?
If AW is going to buy someone, he ain’t gonna stop here just because he had bought a kid from Norway.
If AW is not planning to add anyone into our squad this summer, whether we bought that Norweigan kid or not would have made NO DIFFERENCE.
So please stop rubbishing any young players who had or who’s going to join us. And give them a CHANCE, particular before they even yet to pull on the Arsenal shirt.
Sure, he may turn out to be a flop, just like every youngsters who failed to make it here. But let’s never forget - Fabregas joined the club under the SAME circumstance.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
“If the average age of the players left at Arsenal was 33, you could make a good case that performances would decline without Henry. As the average age is closer to 23, a better case is that they will improve.”
EXACTLY IrishG.
That’s why a player has a CAREER. You learn the game from as early as u start, 8 or 9 years old to 15,16… Then you start learning even more through PLAYING from 18-22…. Then ur game start to take off from 22 onward…. Eventually hitting the peak around 26-29 (defenders, keepers maybe around 30)…. then your game start to slow down due to age after 30….
So far, I have yet to see a player perform to a SAME level from 16 to 36.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Andez, Barca lost the league on head-to-head difference.
They had the same point total as Real Mad, and better goal differential.
They added the finest striker in the world.
I think they just improved.
Also, they will add additional players, Yaya Toure is supposed to sign along with Henry, and I would imagine they’ll trot out a few more as well.
Hell, they might even trot out a new manager… maybe one we’re very familiar with… if not this year, maybe next.
And for good measure, at some point in the next few, I’d wager they’ll come back to their feeder club, and get that Fabregas kid too.
So its not just going to be a fantastic striker that Barca bring in, they re-load every year.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I also saw a rumor that if Anelka isn’t signed then it might be a Babel/Huntelaar combo deal from Ajax by Wenger. That would solve the winger & striker solution in in one move. I’d much rather the latter deal than re-sign Anelka. Babel can play wing & striker, Huntelaar can play center forward & striker.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Some people here have placed too much emphasis on HENRY. We did pretty well without Henry during his injury spell last season and was unbeatean in 12 (albeit not very pretty sometimes). Even with Henry last season perfectly healthy, we were still prone to losing 1-0 to lesser teams. So the problem of Arsenal not being consistent and tough enough to grind out games has been a problem since Paddy left and it continued because we didn’t replace him.
United lost RVN, their best striker in years, and still they won the league because they’re not a one-man team. Is anyone here suggesting that our team is built around a single man? Is Arsene Wenger that stupid to put all his eggs in one basket and be blackedmail by his star player to “match his ambition”?
Sometime investing in players is like investing in stocks. There’s always an element of risk but the good investor makes “educated” decisions and understands what he’s in for. Wenger is no different and his “portfolio” for the moment just so happens to be focused on “capital grow” rather than immediate “income”. Yes, as arsenal supporters we want the cake and eat it too, winning everything while brining in new blood that will one day be something big. This is exactly the United model, spend big on stars, and invest lots in kids at the same time. That business model requires a lot of capital and only with a brand like United and the capacity of their stadium could they afford to run this model. Arsenal is still does not generate enough revenue to catch united which is why we had to get a bigger stadium and go into huge debt.
Look at the big picture. Arsenal has some very loyal core of supporters who will pay to see them week in week out no questions asked. That is the norm for many TRUE football fans, which explains why many EPL teams can still survive despite winning SQUAT for decades. Arsenal is no different, so don’t tell me that people will stop watching Arsenal if we don’t make Europe or we dont’ win this or that. The club has been around long before we supported it, and will continued to be supported well into the future. This is largely due to the fact that Arsenal has been runned by sound business minded individuals, who doesn’t panic buy (leeds style) or make any other rash decision that will cost the club its future.
The difference between a big club like Arsenal, and that of other EPL teams wishing to be big like is, is that they don’t have the culture or experience in the boardroom to make the right business/footballing decisions that will benefit the club not just in the short but long term as well. Yes, newly taken over clubs like Villa, Pool, etc are spending big to try and get better, but it doesn’t gurantee success because you have to buy the RIGHT players that FIT into the team, create chemistry, and support a common cause for the club. Just buying a player beacause he’s a class player as an individual doesn’t mean nothing, as in the case of Sheva and Ballack.
Anyways, to stay on topic, you have to understand Arsenal’s history to appreciate why we got here the way we did, and how we’ll continue to stay on top as a club. Players and Managers come and go, but as long as the new blood comming in embraces the tradition and philosophy of Arsenal they will continue to make this a great club.
I’m not afraid one bit. Even if we played our reserves every match next season, we’d still get a European spot for UEFA at the minimum. Don’t forget that our KIDS almost won the Carling cup. It means not only the kids are talented, but they also gel and embraces the Arsenal ways very well, so with or with out Henry we’d continue to play the way we’ve always done - with style and innovation.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Well, you can guarantee Barca will have to pay more than 16 million for Fabregas, Stag, since he’s not 29 b/c there’s that little matter of that 7 yr. contract that Fabregas signed last year. But if we’re playing the if game, then Henry might get hurt again, Sevilla might not choke this year, pip both Real & Barca to the title, Beckham backs out of the MLS deal leads Real to 2nd over Barca, Arsenal win the EPL & Fabregas STILL leaves. Boo hooooooooooo waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Very good post, Neova.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
….is there any reason why Hillwood rejected Kroenke’s offer to slide a few mill in the boards direction to fund new players? Daily Telegraphs reporting Kroenke has asked for a meeting with Fitz, looks like the mucles are being flexed!
June 24th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Let’s get Huntelaar and Babel and add Sagna and call it a day.
Anelka would be a distraction. If we are going to blow up the team and sell Henry then let’s get good and young. I can wait a few years.
June 25th, 2007 at 12:27 am
I’d be thrilled to see Ryan Babel… but forget Anel