Arsenal, who completed a disappointing fourth within the English Premiership for the second successive season, are resigned to dropping their talismanic marksman Thierry Henry to Spanish soccer membership Barcelona for £16 m. The irony was heavy as Barcelona is the membership Arsenal misplaced to in Paris within the Champion’s League remaining final yr. And this wonderful switch got here just one yr after Barcelona had to surrender their chase for Henry when he signed a brand new four-year contract with Arsenal.

To be honest, Henry, who averaged twenty-plus objectives per season, had been usually dissatisfied with Arsenal’s lack of ability to compete financially with Chelsea and Manchester United regardless of transferring to a a lot bigger stadium final yr. As well as, he was understandably upset along with his mentor Arsene Wenger’s failure to resume his present deal, which is because of expire on the finish of the forthcoming season. Wenger first groomed him 15 years in the past after they labored collectively at AS Monaco – sure, it’s that onerous to say goodbye.

Though he has vowed to not stroll away from the Emirates Stadium earlier than then, he has prevented making any dedication past that. This had proved to be the final straw for Henry after the dressing room ambiance had deteriorated when influential Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein was acrimoniously ousted from the boardroom for aiding an American tycoon to absorb 17 wsm ammo Gunner shares, presumably a tender strategy for a takeover. Properly, it seems that even soccer superstars have their very own anxiousness scares and require some type of a safety blanket. Bonne probability, Monsieur Henry!