So this blog has had a slightly faltering start; a couple of posts then I got buried with work and had to leave it to lie fallow. At long last, however, I am back and what a topic to return with; the loss of 'Titi' our talismanic goal machine.
The 'redtops', as expected are sensationally predicting that the club will implode following the departure of both Dein and now Henry. Despite this predictable 'vulture-like' behaviour from the tabloids, the broadsheets do at least offer a little consolation with articles such as this one by former gunner Alan Smith in the Telegraph. Now I have often found Smith to be infuriatingly disloyal in some of his articles and stints in TV punditry but I must say he makes some good points and expresses what I too have been feeling - that in recent times Henry has gotten a 'little too big for his boots'.
Since the departure of David Dein (the dad of Henry's close friend and 'best man' at his wedding) Thierry has been rather outspoken. As that wise sage 'arseblogger' has stated on countless occasions; Henry has no business in commenting on the goings on that occur at board level. He is just a player not the chairman. Thierry received adulation from us gooners for his unique talent and it would seem on occasion that it all went to his head, warping his perspectives and resulting in a pouting narcissus.
He has been a truly magnificent player and we have been truly privileged to have had this outstanding athlete playing in the red and white of Arsenal BUT he is now 30 we have had the benefit of the best years of his career. If this news story was breaking in say 2001 at the height of his pomp, it would have been a disaster for the club and for us fans but considering both his age, recent temperamental/inconsistent performances and the fact that he now seems to be rather injury prone, his departure it isn't quite as cataclysmic as the media would have you think.
I can remember pulling into a petrol station in the summer of 2000 and seeing the headlines in the newspapers that we had just sold Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit (also to Barcelona ironically enough). I was both shocked and depressed. The summer prior to that we had sold Anelka and it seemed that Wenger was intent on dismantling our double winning side of '98. Overmars providing so many goals from the wing and Petit part of the famous Vieira-Petit axis in the midfield I felt sure that this was the end of our glory days and yet even better times were ahead. Once again, as then, I am sure that Wenger has made a calculated and well-reasoned decision.
No one is bigger than the club and many of us wondered how we would ever survive the departures of Liam Brady, Frank Stapleton, Ian Wright, Tony Adams (or any of the other famous back four for that matter) etc but we did and world continued to spin on its axis. The only player who, in my opinion, was truly irreplaceable is the unique genius that was Dennis Bergkamp.
So what will this change in personnel mean for the club? Well, we will now be looking to even more great things from the magnificent Van Persie in fact, a few more like this wouldn't go amiss. The 'Great Dane' that is Niklas Bendtner will hopefully relish the opportunity Henry's exit represents and seize it with both hands. I have high hopes for him as he is more like the traditional 'no.9' centre forward that we have often missed.
Wenger has more or less invented the concept of a wing-forward (Henry/Reyes/Overmars/Pires/Van Persie etc) and it has been an effective offensive notion but I'm sure we all agree that after 20 or so exquisite passes we are crying out for some big striker to just hammer it home - maybe that's what Bendtner can provide for us.
Henry's departure is big news but of far more significance will be whether we can hold on to our professorial manager. Gunnerblog quotes Henry from this article in 'L'equipe' as saying that he left because Wenger's future at the club is uncertain. I think that this is scaremongering and am optimistic that Wenger will stay at the club.
As I typed this entry on my laptop I was also watching Holland destroy Serbia in the final of the U21 euro championships. Babel scored the second and made the third, now wouldn't it cheer us up if he was brought in as a replacement? In any case. . . 'Arsene knows'
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