The Merry Arsenal Merry-Go-Round.
Posted by Vi on June 23rd, 2007
It’s done. As an Arsenal fan it’s hard not to feel the numbing pain that envelopes the entire body. Even as late as last night, I was clinging on the hope that all this was tabloid generated fiction. Its like a failed marriage, you fail to see the signs and when a defining moment comes, it hits you and it hits you hard. For every Arsenal fan this must have been a dagger to the heart.
An open letter from the great man himself. And I say great man because he gave us umpteen moments of joy. The man who put a smile on all arsenal faces every time he played. For all his posturing and pouting, he genuinely loved the club and the fans adored him. Adulation that was second to none. He undoubtedly gave us some of the best memories of Arsenal, goals like the chip over Barthez, the Real Madrid one, the list goes on… There is no denything that he gave the best past of his career to Arsenal. He peaked at Arsenal.He will be missed. Sorely.
Saying all that, its time to move on, Arsenal existed before Henry and will exist after him. He was dangerously close to becoming bigger than the club. And no one should ever be bigger than the club. Even last season the warning signs were there. Even from the sidelines when he was injured, he was always in the limelight, whether it was making statements or doing that silly dance with Adebayor.
 At the risk of sounding bitter, what has the departure of David Dein got anything to do with his career. And in his letter he cites Arsene Wenger not signing a new contract also a possible reason. Wenger has always left re-signing of contracts late and that has not prevented Henry from re-signing prior contracts. Though, he has said all the right things those two statements are damning indications that he had made up his mind regardless of AW or DD.
There is a school of thought that he inhibited the young gunners from playing, whilst not totally subscribing to that view, its not entirely incorrect. He was the go to guy, perhaps rightly so, but last season showed signs that the team will not entirely be lost without Henry. The young guns have to step up and take the mantle.
More intriguing is the question on who Wenger will sign as a suitable replacement. Those are some very big boots to fill. Does Arsene have enough money to sign another quality player? Does Arsene know some injury to Henry that we dont know? After all he held all the aces, 3 years to run on the contract and only 16 million pounds? Its all irrelevant now i guess. He certainly has my “Best wishes”, thats the very least he deserves from Arsenal fans. But for feck’s sake I sincerely hope that he doesn’t and make stupid statements(ala Vieira) whilst at Barcelona and reduce his legend points.
The courtship with Barcelona is now over, now begins the romance. Is it going to be a long term love affair or is it going to be case of lust turned sour? Does Henry ,30 this august, have the hunger, the fire, and more importantly the fitness to do the same things that he did for Arsenal? I have my doubts. Sour grapes maybe, but hey i have them in truckloads.
Thank you Henry, you have moved on. So will we and so will the club. Au Revoir!
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June 23rd, 2007 at 10:47 am
it’s important now that wenger keeps his flock together. there is already talk that cesc is already planning his move. wenger should take care that such a thing doesn’t happen.
in my opinion, arsenal’s biggest strength last season was their midfield - hleb-fabregas-rosicky-ljungberg playing in front of gilberto. and they are all still there. and wenger needs to make sure they remain.
what arsenal need now is not another henry. they don’t need a forward, they need a striker. an out and out striker who can convert the chances that the excellent midfield creates. adebayor isn’t good enough. he doesn’t match up to the people behind him. soemone like tevez would be ideal!
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:47 pm
its going to be interesting to see V cheer the man he has loathed the past 5 years
June 24th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
My thoughts are almost the same as yours, infact i think all Gunner fans will agree with you. Henry was the reason why i really started loving arsenal so much, some of his goals - barthez chip, Equaliser against Spurs, R Madrid goal … are some of moments that will always remain in my memory. Now that he has decided to move on, I wish him best of luck in his future endaevour at Barcelona, but my primary concern is Arsenal.
Last yr without Henry’s goals … we did struggle. Adabeyor is still young, and more Kanu type … he wont give you 20+ goals a season like Henry used to consistently give. Van Persie looks to be the sort of player who can step up, but he has a tendency to get injured. The guy i am pinning my hopes on is Nicolas Bentdner. That guy is a awesome prospect, had a wonderful season at Birmingham on loan last yr. Wenger does need to bring in one classy striker to replace Henry, though i have my doubts whether Wenger will bring in a out and out poacher as it is totally against his philosphy of football.
I also agree with Henry a little bit about David Dein. If Arsene doesnt extend his contract at the end of this season, i am sure DD’s departure would have played a massive role in that. And I do honestly belive that losing Wenger is something Arsenal cannot afford.