Henry Signed For Barca

[Fiddy]

Do you follow premiership football?

Henry has anything but a patchy injury record. He's one of th greatest players to grace the league and has a good 3 years + left.

Bent, like Phillips and Sutton, a medicore player with one or two good seasons behind him will fade away prematurely.

If you think Henry is the lesser option at £16M, than you know jack ****. Differences of opinions are justified with players of similar ability, but to claim that Bent is the better option is complete stupidity. Congratulations. In 12 or 13 years on the internet I've refrained from calling someone stupid until today.

Henry is class, and only injury stopped him proving it once again for a whole season. Worth at least £20m IMO, he's clearly better than Bent and is he really half the player Shevchenko is

Further proof of this - every Arsenal fan I know is pissed off they didn't at least get more for a player who is their talisman (and skipper too)

[Guest]

Barca would be a fabulous team next season, with a forward line of Eto'o and Henry.

And a side note, Guily has been put on the transfer market, so he may well en up here as a bargain buy, because Rafa was interested last year.

[Nicey]

So that's Darren Bent, with a good scoring record at 23, no injury problems and blistering pace, and Thierry Henry, 29 and a patchy injury record who's shown signs of losing his pace. Both players rely on pace and one is losing his. I'd say 16 million is anything but cheap for a player in decline, pushing 30and who'll think he's bigger than the club.

[AFII]

ADIOS
£16M Henry off to Barca ..Tevez lined up
By Darren Lewis 23/06/2007

THIERRY HENRY will sign for Barcelona today in a £16million deal - with West Ham striker Carlos Tevez being targeted by Arsenal to replace him.

Henry will sign a four-year contract worth around £7m a season to join Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp in the most formidable front line in world football.

The Gunners are set to officially confirm the switch later today. It brings to an end the Frenchman's eight-year stay in London during which boss Arsene Wenger turned him into a superstar.

The striker was sidelined for much of the recent campaign with injury but in four of the five campaigns between 2001 and 2006 he was the Arsenal's top scorer.

Henry signed a new four-year contract with the Gunners last year, following Arsenal's Champions League Final defeat to Barca, insisting he would stay for the rest of his career.

But he fell out with Wenger earlier this season after being dropped for the north London derby against Tottenham.

Wenger insisted his star man was injured but it is known that Henry was more than ready to play in the contest.

Henry is also known to have been unhappy at Wenger's insistence in taking on Chelsea and Manchester United's seasoned campaigners with raw youngsters.

And the French striker, Arsenal's all-time record scorer, admitted the shock departure of vice-chairman David Dein had been unsettling for everyone at the club. For Barca meanwhile, there was delight last night at finally capturing the man they have been after for the last two years.

Wenger will now turn to Tevez, who has become one of the most sought-after strikers in European football following his success in almost single-handedly dragging West Ham to Premiership safety from the jaws of relegation. At 23 Tevez - who plays in next week's Copa America for Argentina - would be a sound long-term investment for the Gunners who have registered their interest with the player's advisors.

Manchester United and Inter Milan are also interested in the pint-sized hitman, who recently admitted he would be more than happy to stay at Upton Park if the right package could be put together.

But Arsenal's need now appears greatest, with the Gunners desperate to prove to their fans that there is life after Thierry Henry.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...9520-19343783/

[Diego]

tevez will never go to arsenal...

[AFII]

tevez will never go to arsenal...

If they pay what Kia want for him then he will move to them IMO.

[Diego]

at the end of the day arsenal will not be the highest bidders no way. i don't think he'll go to madrid, unless kaka doesn't go there, if kaka stays at milan, tevez is definetly a madrid player in a few weeks time, other teams that are serious contenders are inter, possibly milan if kaka goes, chelski. ofcourse if we have the money i think he'll sign for us rather than arse but i doubt we have the money, mancs could spend more and grab him but i doubt it...

[FatTony]

And a side note, Guily has been put on the transfer market, so he may well en up here as a bargain buy, because Rafa was interested last year.

I hope not, there are far better options, but I hear he could be purchased for as little as £1.5M. I thought Voronin would be our experienced squad player up front.

[FatTony]

That's a bit harsh mate. For a start I haven't actually said I'd prefer Bent, just that we can do better than Henry if we're splashing the cash. I replied to the suggestion that the price similarity was ridiculous.

Henry played 27 games last season. Granted, he scored 12 but I don't think he'd necessarily reproduce what he does for Arsenal as effectively for us, and I just think we should be getting a top draw young player for more than a couple of years. Just an opinion. It's not as if I called Charlie a n****r or something.

Yes it was harsh and I apologise. I had my heart set on seeing Henry in a LFC shirt and thought it would happen, and yesterday evening the dream ended and I was having a little tantrum.

[Elvis]

Henry can walk faster than Bent can run. If you want to see a player that's lost pace check out young Michael Owen....

[carrsim]

i just hope this means arsenal will not be in for torres. wenger is a known admirer.

Having said that, unless wenger makes some kind of commitment beyond a year then players may not fancy arsenal too much.

i have not been panicing during this quiet period, but now arsenal need a striker but face a period of unrest, so we should get moving on

plus i think barca need a top quality holding midfielder to look after the shop while this array of talent attack at will. too bad the ideal spanish version just signed a 5 year deal with some other club...

[Elvis]

Good read from the Torygraph for the doubters....

Not since an Arizona entrepreneur bought London Bridge has England's capital lost such a famous sight. Thierry Henry's move is much more than a transfer of one man's power from Arsenal to Barcelona; it signals a shift in power from the Premiership to La Liga.

Henry was not simply a one-club icon, a heart-throb for enchanted onlookers at Highbury and then the Emirates. This marvellous French talent transcended his Arsenal employment status in the eyes of millions of mesmerised neutrals, even rivals. Everyone felt privileged that this genuine star was performing before the packed houses of the Premiership, rather than overseas.

Even Manchester United fans, so quick to denigrate Patrick Vieira when he was at Arsenal, never abuse the three-time Footballer of the Year. Nor Chelsea supporters. Nor Liverpool. Henry is close to Steven Gerrard, Liverpool's captain who picks his friends carefully. Everyone respects and admires Henry. The Parisian's sporting capabilities, his athleticism earn many plaudits; so does his dignity off the field, his eloquent campaigning on issues like anti-racism.

When he talks, people listen. When he runs with the ball, people's eyes light up. Henry is special because he understands how important football is, yet he can play with a smile, share a joke with a referee or opponent.

In a sport of sharks, Henry possesses that rarest of qualities: grace. Now this engaging man and wonderful entertainer has gone, and some of the glamour drains away from the Premiership towards La Liga. Richard Scudamore should have placed an export ban on him.

All the talk of Henry being a spent force, of having his menacing movement stymied by a back problem, is nonsense. He will be a formidable weapon for Barcelona, though how Frank Rijkaard juggles Henry's propensity for drifting left with Ronaldinho's similar tendencies remains to be seen. It will be fun to watch.

Henry's switch threatens the Premiership's self-titled status as the "greatest league in the world'', particularly if Carlos Tevez surfaces soon at Real Madrid. La Liga clubs were subdued in Europe last season, with the Premiership and Serie A dominating, but clearly Barcelona's celebrated showmen were merely resting. More drama awaits next season, the famous Catalan troupe strengthened by Henry's arrival.

What should alarm Scudamore, the Premier League's savvy chief executive, is that the huge wealth flowing into the Premiership could not keep Henry. Anyone who knows the former Juventus player will appreciate his move to Barcelona is not motivated by greed. Henry was handsomely rewarded by Arsenal.

Henry has gone for the chance to play with a team committed to golden football in the pursuit of silverware. No should begrudge one of football's good guys that wonderful chance. La Liga is on the move again. The Catalan gauntlet has been thrown down.

[Shaggy]

Arsenal confirm Henry departure.

[disco]

Never mind - he is just an old has been - let him fade away at Barca....

He's my identical birthday twin, he's not old. 29

[Parm]

How much? I think it is the right decision for Arsenal - he looks like he has long term injury problems.

Dave that's a bit unfair on henry. He's had about 6 and a half years where he has played (carling cup asisde) just about every game, week in week out and maintained an amazingly high standard. It's only since dec last year where a combo of tiredness and niggling injuries affected him.

As in terms of price etc I do agree, it's a lot for a 29yr old, but he is still worth it.