HENRY 'TO JOIN' BARCELONA
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its a gd deal n Gunners shld sell him..
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so eto can come to pool?
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Doubt o...Barca are hell bent on to play Eto'o and Henry together..Get a 30 yr old Henry to fit into the shoes of a striker in his prime - eto'o?They must be nuts thenOriginally posted by SBS9828X:so eto can come to pool? 
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Wenger has promised silverware season after season and yet......I'm not surprised that Henry is going......
A little sad though...... -
Its a chain.
Wenger will be sad to see his prodigy leave, if he leaves at the end of his contract which is next season, then fabregas will also want to move back to spain.
Tough times for Arsenal, and yes maybe they should have sold him last season for more money, but the Emirate was due this season, and he was needed. -
Thierry Henry Joins Barcelona For £16m
Thierry Henry has agreed to join Barcelona in a deal worth £16m, which is expected to be confirmed over the weekend.
Henry, 29, almost moved to Barcelona last season, but eventually decided to stay at Arsenal after the Champions League final defeat to the Catalans, seeing promise in his young Gunners.
However, David Dein's departure, another disappointing season for Arsenal, and little chance of the Gunners spending big money in the summer, have together combined to help him make his decision.
Barcelona re-activated their interest in him a couple of months ago, after he publicly vented his frustrations over Arsenal's lack of competitiveness.
Reports have been doing the rounds since, be it about his agent holding talks, or Wenger himself speaking with Barcelona, but it looks like a definitive solution has finally been found.
Arsenal wanted to have Samuel Eto'o included in the deal, but the Catalans insisted that the Cameroon international was not for sale.
The Gunners will, however, be richer by 24 million euros as a result (they initially wanted 35), and Henry himself will make the same sum over four years, at the rate of 120,000 euros a week. The player will travel to Barcelona on Sunday to complete a medical, and put pen to paper, and be presented to the media on Monday.
Sources in England have since added to the details. Barcelona vice president Ferran Soriano (who was in Rome today to discuss Christian Chivu's transfer) returned from London at 2am in the morning, having reached an agreement with the Arsene Wenger.
Sources in Spain are suggesting that top Barcelona officials have intentionally leaked the story once they were sure the agreement with Arsenal was formally complete.
LATEST UPDATE: Barcelona vice president has since told reporters at the airport (upon his return from Rome) that he was indeed in London, and had sealed the deal. However, Arsenal have asked that it be kept under wraps for a couple of days.
He also revealed that he had spoken to Thierry Henry, and that the player was satisfied with and excited by the move.
The move completes Barcelona's desire to put together the best attack in the world, with Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Messi sharing the three starting spots up front. With a maximum of 55 games next season (excluding internationals), Barca are seemingly confident each of the four can feature in 35 odd games, and remain fresh for the decisive part of the season.
Barcelona are also expected to sign Christian Chivu and Yaya Toure in the coming days as they look to move quickly after losing the La Liga title to Real Madrid -
Henry Excited About Barca Move - Soriano
Barcelona vice-president Ferran Soriano has confirmed that he was in London, and has reached an agreement with Arsenal over the transfer of Thierry Henry.
He also revealed that he had to step up his efforts to sign Henry after learning of the interest of both Milan and Inter, who continue to fight over David Suazo.
Finally, he said that he had spoken with the striker on the phone, ans that the Frenchman was very excited about beginning a new chapter in his career.
"I spoke with him, and he is very satistifed and the same time very excited about this new stage of his career," the Barca vice-president volunteered, leaving the reporters at the airport with a wink. -
If Wenger doesn't do anything, Arsenal will crumble next season, definitely.
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What's new.. motherfcuking Barcelona destabilising Arsenal every year.
I know Cesc will leave one day.
Gawd, this is making me so numb. Henry is Mr Arsenal through and through. But he's given us 8 years of wonder, so let's not blame him. -
the key man is not henry, but wenger.
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arsenal also what keep wanting eto'oOriginally posted by LazerLordz:What's new.. motherfcuking Barcelona destabilising Arsenal every year.
I know Cesc will leave one day.
Gawd, this is making me so numb. Henry is Mr Arsenal through and through. But he's given us 8 years of wonder, so let's not blame him. -
Isnt £16m too low for Henry
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Eto'o was included as a negotiating tool. But turns out that the whole deal is not beneficial at all.Originally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:arsenal also what keep wanting eto'o -
apparently its double or nothingOriginally posted by LazerLordz:Eto'o was included as a negotiating tool. But turns out that the whole deal is not beneficial at all. -
A piece of article to share
Where Do Arsenal Go Without Henry?
Graham Lister analysed a few days ago, how Arsenal would fare with or without Henry. Now that the latter possibility is set to come true, Goal.com presents, once again, his analysis of the Gunners' future...
Are they doomed, or is there light at the end of this proverbial tunnal? There are many aspects we must look at before we attempt arriving at a conclusion.
First, we must recall that Arsenal played half of last season with a half-fit Henry, and the other half without him in the side at all, so they have got used to being without him.
In his absence, the quality of their build-up play did not suffer dramatically. The only place they suffered was in the final third, where Henry's goalscoring instincts (and those of another injury victim, Robin van Persie) were sorely missed.
His effectiveness may have been blunted without the guile and craft of Bergkamp and Pires, the drive and passing ability of Vieira and the intelligent running of Freddie Ljungberg, whose latter career has been too frequently punctuated by injuries.
However, that is not a conclusive observation, because Henry was not fit last season, therefore not operating at maximum capacity.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Jeremie Aliadiere and Julio Baptista were all given opportunities in strikers' roles while Henry and van Persie were on the treatment table. None of the three provided a convincing answer.
Adebayor offered promise and worked tirelessly for the team, often making things happen by pursuing seemingly lost causes. Aliadiere (now at Middlesbrough) and Baptista were found wanting either technically or temperamentally.
Thus, with Henry leaving, Arsenal are looking for a goal-poaching 'fox-in-the-box' forward who can feed off scraps as well as provide end-product to Arsenal's often sumptuous approach play. van Persie will be the only really reliable striker, and unless Theo Walcott becomes the new 'Titi', the search will be a long one for Wenger.
Niklas Bendtner, fresh from a successful season-long loan spell with promoted Birmingham City, could offer options as the Dutchman's strike partner. Would that be enough? After the frustrating experiences of last season (epitomised by the games at the Emirates against CSKA Moscow and West Ham, both of which Arsenal utterly dominated without managing to win or even score) most Gooners would say: No, it ain't.
Those fans will interpret the sale of Henry, without the recruitment of a top-rate striker of the Eto'o, Owen, Torres calibre as a replacement, as a sign that Arsenal were tacitly surrendering their top four status, possibly to arch-rivals Spurs.
An exit softened by the purchase of another striker of genuine quality will be sad but still bearable, particularly with Gilberto Silva having led the team admirably in Titi's absence. After all, no one player is bigger than the club, as has been proved repeatedly - though losing a player as influential as Henry could trigger a lengthy 'transition' before the good times returned.
Something else to consider is the effect that would have on the rest of the squad. Would others be tempted to jump ship? Possibly! And would it make Arsenal less attractive a destination to some potential transfer targets? Again, possibly! A Torres, Owen or Eto'o might just think that one extra time now!
The ideal scenario for Arsenal fans would have been be that Henry remained faithful to the sentiments he expressed a year ago and Wenger brought in a couple of world class stars to support him and underline the club's ambitions. That did not happen, and with the construction of the Emirates Stadium having put huge financial strains on the North London club.
As least the 24 million euros can be used, though, ironically, it might not be enough to land a top striker. Even Darren Bent's stock is rising that high! Arsenal have so far been conspicuous by their absence from most of the big transfer stories this close-season, which can give the impression that the club are being left behind by domestic rivals like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.
That could be deceptive, though: the Gunners tend to do their business away from the media spotlight and then announce a new signing as a fait accompli, so there could be some surprises in store. Signings, there will be, for sure, even if not lavish ones!
In conclusion, as a skipper he might not be missed as much. As a striker, again not so much compared to a season in which he hardly played. If a good striker comes in, as one should, even less!
However, in terms of the confidence inspired, in terms of the ambition portrayed, and in terms of sheer branding, the damage will be huge! -
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With all the media fanfare, one might ask, when if Henry joins Barca, where will Ronaldinho play?
There will be one extra player in the bunch.
Hmm... silence, absolute silence about Ronaldinho, and Barca's style of play has slowly changed from one that used to be based around him, to one that is built around Messi and Eto'o now.
Ronaldinho coming to the Emirates under a media hush? It's one of the possibilities..
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possibility is switching one of their CM to ST. eto'o partnering henry. ronny and messi will contd to work down the wingsOriginally posted by LazerLordz:With all the media fanfare, one might ask, when if Henry joins Barca, where will Ronaldinho play?
There will be one extra player in the bunch.
Hmm... silence, absolute silence about Ronaldinho, and Barca's style of play has slowly changed from one that used to be based around him, to one that is built around Messi and Eto'o now.
Ronaldinho coming to the Emirates under a media hush? It's one of the possibilities.. -
Ehh actually imo. SInce Barca likes the 4-3-3.
Henry LF, Messi RF, and Eto CF.
Ronaldinho can play in the hole which is the AM position, Deco can drop back to the Cm position, Xavi can be sold, anyway since he's off form, and they have Iniesta waiting behind.
Yaya Toure will be the DM. This will be the best option available to them. -
actually they wont sell a holding midfielder. i think deco will go. toure, motta, edmilson, xavi, iniesta will be key players for midfield when the big four goes upfront to attackOriginally posted by stellazio:Ehh actually imo. SInce Barca likes the 4-3-3.
Henry LF, Messi RF, and Eto CF.
Ronaldinho can play in the hole which is the AM position, Deco can drop back to the Cm position, Xavi can be sold, anyway since he's off form, and they have Iniesta waiting behind.
Yaya Toure will be the DM. This will be the best option available to them. -
Valdes
Zambrotta Puyol Marquez Van Bronckhorst
Xavi Deco
Ronaldinho
Henry Eto'o Messi
Best team in Europe? -
Wah, Henry for 16mil pounds only!
Even Nani and Anderson cost more. Man Utd ought to have spent on Henry instead.
Why is the Spanish teams always so rich and luring away all the talents???
Zidane, Becks, Ronaldinho and now Henry.
They even keep unsettling Fabregas and C.Ronaldo. Wats so good abt spanish? -
But comparing Deco to Xavi, alright so Deco is nearing his 30's.Originally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:actually they wont sell a holding midfielder. i think deco will go. toure, motta, edmilson, xavi, iniesta will be key players for midfield when the big four goes upfront to attack
But really Iniesta makes Xavi looks bad.
Edmilson should be the replacement DM for Yaya Toure.
But something still needs to be done about their defence. -
spanish league got flair and great in technical abilities but sark in defenceOriginally posted by jianfish9:Wah, Henry for 16mil pounds only!
Even Nani and Anderson cost more. Man Utd ought to have spent on Henry instead.
Why is the Spanish teams always so rich and luring away all the talents???
Zidane, Becks, Ronaldinho and now Henry.
They even keep unsettling Fabregas and C.Ronaldo. Wats so good abt spanish?