So the fall out from the Henry transfer saga continues and the man himself has spoken. In this interview for Arsenal.com Thierry once again states that it was the uncertainty about Wenger staying at the club beyond next year that made him want to head for Catalonia.
Surely, however, this is an error in logic. . . Wenger may stay at Arsenal and yes, it's true he could also conceivably leave at the end of next season BUT in terms of probability, staying at Arsenal would have given Henry the greatest chance of playing under Wenger. After all, leaving Arsenal ensures Thierry that he will definitely NOT have 'le prof' as his manager. Henry's decision to leave for fear that he may end up not playing for Wenger, is therefore quite illogical as his actions have precipitated the very fate he feared.
Unless of course. . . Titi suspects that AW has a good chance of following him belatedly to the Camp Nou as the successor to Rikjard. Now that eventuality would be a frightening thought. Like all other gooners, I genuinely dread the day when Wenger severs his ties with the glorious gunners.
In the interview Henry also hints at his sadness at leaving Highbury and the idea that this variable was significant in his decision to fly the nest is explored in this by Brian Glanville of The Times
An interesting article in the Observer contemplates the idea that Fabregas might assume the captaincy but I think this is unlikely as Gilberto seems the most obvious choice.
Meanwhile, other sectors of the media continue to try to elevate my blood pressure with their doom and gloom predictions for the future of our club and fans from our rivals sharpen their knives but to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated!
2 comments:
Kolo Toure for captain all the way. He is a career man for Arsenal and the natural leader at the back now that he has experience. It will, of course, go to Gilberto which isn't so bad.
I agree about the sale of Henry itself; 16 million for a 30 year old who is not going to get any better and has some injury doubts is not a bad piece of business. Also some of his behaviour at times isn’t the best example to the younger players.
What is of far greater concern is the events behind the scenes at the club. The possibility that this could mark the beginning of the end for the Wenger dynasty is very worrying. Henry said the major factor in his decision to leave was the uncertainty over the clubs future and although many have been quick to dismiss this as a soft excuse something significant must have changed since he signed his contract 12 months ago. This has to be the major concern for Gooners as I'm sure Wenger would have given all the necessary assurances he needed if he could. Arsenal can certainly recover from loosing Henry but if Wenger goes he would be impossible to replace. In my humble opinion Wenger has become bigger than the club.
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