Saturday 23 June 2007

Au Revoir Thierry Henry...

Well the news that most Arsenal fans have been expecting has come - Thierry Henry has signed for Barcelona. He leaves the Premiership as a genuine legend of English football with an unsurpassed legacy of great goals. His pace, flair and partnerships with the likes of Bergkamp and Pires took Arsenal to heights that we may never see at the club again. But the time had come and £16m doesn't look too bad a deal for a striker about to reach 30, though I was hoping we'd get Eto'o in a swap. The only real silver lining seems to be that the deal was not supposed to be announced until next week as Arsenal arrange the signing of a replacement. But I'm never too hopeful in these matters as it seems to have been a while since we really bought well and have failed to replace the likes of Vierra and Pires in the last couple of seasons. Pires to my mind was the critical loss and the lack of goals from midfield has really hurt us. It's all very well pointing to the kids coming through but as someone once said - You don't win anything with kids.

The rationale behind Henry's departure is apparently David Dein's leaving. And the current stalemate on the board threatens the departure of Arsene Wenger and that really would be a disaster for the club. An exodus of our talented young foreigners would then be likely just as they start to approach their prime. Kroenke's intervention in the club has bought nothing but trouble and threatens to undermine the club just as comes through its period of financial difficulties caused by the move to the Emirates. I heartily wish he would piss off and leave our club alone. Unfortunately these greedy, bloated egos don't give a stuff about the fans - we're just the cash cows to be milked!

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