Henry's future in the balance
Arsenal's loss to Barcelona clarifies nothing in his long-running transfer saga.
Will he stay or will he go? That's the question Arsenal fans are asking themselves about Thierry Henry in the aftermath of Barcelona's victory in Champions League final on Wednesday.
It's also the question everyone else is heartily sick of, as it's an issue that's been floating about since last year.
With one year left on his contract, Arsenal have offered the Frenchman a new four-year deal and if he turns them down, will look to cash in on their star asset in the coming weeks, as opposed to letting him leave for nothing in 12 months.
It's hard to say what Henry will decide to do -- on the face of it, the result of the Champions League final seems irrelevant.
Approaching 29 years of age, Henry has played at Arsenal since 1999 and won all he can in the English game. A victory in Paris may have been the perfect finishing touch to a brilliant career in North London.
The defeat still leaves him with the challenge of winning the competition with the Gunners, but that may be a challenge too far. Apart from that, the media seem to think that playing at Arsenal's shiny new Ashburton Grove stadium will prove incentive enough for him to sign on the dotted line.
You can draw parallels with the Steven Gerrard, will-he-won't-he, push-me-pull-you, Chelsea-or-Liverpool, all-you-can-eat, cheap-at-twice-the-price transfer saga after last year's Champions League final.
It seemed odds-on that Gerrard would join Jose's mob in West London after declaring he felt unwanted at Liverpool, but a last minute change of heart saw Stevie G sign his own four year megabucks contract. Could the same happen with Henry?
Gerrard is a Scouser born and bred, a boyhood Liverpool fan and never expressed any desire to leave the club. But does Henry, despite being one of the most important figures in Arsenal's history and calling London "home" at Football Writers' Association player of the year awards, have the same links to the area or the club?
The latest news is that Henry has given Arsenal fans hope he will still be a Gunner next season by speaking over the intercom of the plane ferrying players and fans of the club back over the Channel: "We must pick ourselves up and make sure we come back stronger next year". Pretty thin stuff, as far as commitments go.
If it was Henry's last match for Arsenal, he gave a true captain's performance of determination, drive and not a little skill - his contribution certainly eclipsed the performance of his much-heralded Barcelona counterpart, Ronaldinho.
Although he didn't score and missed a gilt-edged chance to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead, it was a bravura front-running performance. A shame he spoilt it slightly with some sour post-match comments about the referee's (admittedly) uneven performance.
If Henry does go (and for what it's worth, I reckon he will) he will leave Arsenal and English football the poorer.
Just make your mind up sooner rather than later will you Thierry?
UPDATE: 19 May 2006
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