Should Henry leave Arsenal next summer?
Back when I started Soccerlens, the second article I wrote was about Thierry Henry and his contract wrangle with Arsenal.
Looking at where Arsenal are at right now, and how Thierry Henry has been this year, I think we should step back and think again about what happened before this year’s Champions League final.
Henry was being courted by Barcelona, and he had admitted to not being certain about staying or leaving. In the end Arsenal convinced him with a fantastic pay-package and Henry’s loyalty to the club, plus the promise of leading Arsenal at a new stadium and being part of a rebuilt team kept him around.
It’s cruel, but I think he got it wrong (just like Vieira should have been sold in the summer of 2004, and Ruud should have been sold in the summer of 2005). There are two ways to look at it - one, that Henry knew about Wenger’s plans for the club, but that they haven’t worked out so far, so it’s more ‘tough luck’ than anything else.
Two, even with everything going picture-perfect, Henry’s status at Arsenal had already peaked, and short of leading them to a Champions League title (which didn’t happen) there’s not much more that he could have accomplished.
Henry, at the end of last season, needed to take his career to the next level. He thought he could do it Arsenal, but I said it then, and I’m saying it again, he made a mistake.
I don’t know if he’d leave next summer or not - but he probably should. He’s still got a few years to play, but Arsenal aren’t going to help him win the Champions League, and he wants that more than anything else.
What do you guys think?
- Rumour: Arsenal legend Henry headed for Real Madrid, not Barcelona
- Arsenal’s Henry-shaped demons point to a Fabless future
- I hope Henry is not leaving
- Will Henry pull a Vieira?
- How will Henry fit in at Barça?
Discussion - 27 Responses
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His permanent sulking will not be tolerated at another club where he’s not the ultimate hero.
Yeah, because it’s inconcievable that a young Arsenal team could get to the Champions League final.
Oh, wait a minute…
Henry suits Arsenal and Arsenal suits Henry. He wouldn’t like being “just another player” at another big club. He won’t go back to Italy, Barcelona have said they will never try and buy him again, and he’ll never play for Man Utd or Chelsea. So where will he go? Where exactly should he go to “guarantee” winning Champions League, even Barcelona only won it once in 30 years?
My argument (from the initial post that I referenced and this one) is that Arsenal’s not strong enough to match Henry’s ambitions in the time that he has left at the top level.
But that’s just one side of the story - building the team around Henry with the lack of other obvious leaders meant that Arsenal were bound to go into a slump this season (although the injuries have been unfortunate). This is still the same team as last year, but it’ll take them time to be consistently great.
Does Henry have that much time?
It’s a different story that he won’t fit anywhere as well as he does at Arsenal, but the Henry+Arsenal combo has jumped the gun.
Say what you want about integrity and loyalty, this isn’t about that.
They say no player is bigger than the club. Is Henry?
If Wenger’s looking out for the club, then let’s leave sentimentality aside for a minute and think about what will benefit Arsenal the most: Earning 30 mil off Henry and investing it into 4 new players, or allowing him to retire at the club when he’s clearly not the most important player any more (Toure and Fabregas are).
It’s harsh, and you shouldn’t treat players like this, but Arsenal want to win, and you gotta make the tough decisions at some point.
I think we are all getting sidetracked here
The real issue is that we no longer have goals in all departments
2 years ago we had Pires 15,Lundberg 15 Bergamp 12 and Henry loads of course
Compare that with Hleb 3/4 Rosicky 6/7 and Fabrgas 4/5
It is frightening to think that Henry is almost our only goalscorer
I think he should go look for a better club. ARsenal should be better than this, how many better clubs can he go to that may need this sort of kid, e.g. AC Milan (just lost Shevchenko), Inter, Palermo, Barcelona, Madrid may have cracks at him, but he isn’t playing well in the Premier League, so why should he stay?????
Personally I think he should go. HE can’t inspire his team mates yet he is the club captain and he has started playing like he believes the hype that he is the best in the world which he clearly isn’t. For me if Van Piersie keeps scoring like he did vs Fulham Asrenal should sell Henry for a hefty sum and replace him with a young gun like Bent or Torres even. For my mney he is part of the reason the team is going backward not the other way round
Its all relative isn’t it? Players come and go, yet footie goes on. Henry’s reached his potential at Arsenal, having shown what he can do, yet having failed to see that the rather unorganized dispatch of senior players has left Henry to be the heart and sole of the team.
Its a rather banal discussion, particularly on account of the fact that its been discussed in context to every great player that’s reached his peak, but here we go again. Being a manc, but a lover of the game before anything, its hard to see the league without Henry - but, unless some of the current crop mature into the great leaders that they can be, by summer, its hard to see why Arsene wouldn’t cash in on his once greatest asset and bring in a few lads to prove to be the senior figure. Isn’t that, in part, what Fergie’s done with the capture of Larsson? How often have you seen a 35year old in a red shirt?
don’t middlesbrough play in red
Maybe he has pushed it a little too far, the strength of the squad is youth and energy, which will take them only so far. The Arsenal core of pires viera ljunberg sol henry and bergkamp is gone. Henry really does look out of place and doesnt look like he isnt enjoying his football. And Ryan i dont know what the fuck your saying about perpetual sulking, i think he is one of the most content and patient guys. No disrespect to Arsenal, but he does need a step up and honestly the only logical place can be Barca or AC. Since he will never play for another english club, and i think he will leave sometime in the near future, its a sad day when we wont be able to see him in his prime and being one of the best around
Henry is overated. He can’t inspire his teammates yet his the capatin. for my money, if RVP keeps progressing at his cruuent rate. Henry will be gone next summer.
lol - do they? Nah but really - if the “Henry / Wenger bustup” rumors are to be believed, then dangit, if one didn’t know better, you’d think that the two of them are regular soccerlens readers! And before Ahmed ends up on his high horses about that, I’ll retract the last statement..heheh
RE: Keith - C’mon man… “Henry is overated” … that’s an aweful thing to say. You’d feel bad if I said Rooney was over-rated now wouldn’t you? If you’re ONLY talking about this season, fine…. but if you generally think Henry is over-rated then pleeeease man…. use your fu**king brain.
Keith, you’re right. Henry was about to leave the sunking ship and Wenger just had to give the armband to him to keep him on board. He is probably the worst captain in EPL and the most overrated player for decades. Yes, he scores lots of goals, but so do L.Toni and van Nistelrooy too. They are never said to be THE best players in the world.
I wish this season shows everybody what Henry really is. A selfish player who won’t be around for long. 20 goals, maybe. Trophies for Arsenal, not before he is offloaded.
what is Ahmed on about? Busy creating a storm in a tea cup. Henry’s only problem is the fact that the critics are quick to lay all of Arsenal’s problems at his feet (its always either him or Wenger that takes the flak and understandably so, because that’s what leadership is all about). However, its easy to forget that for a player of his calibre to really show his progidy, he has to have the entire team behind him - clean through passes, etc., but as we’ve all seen of late, that sort of service has been erratic in the last couple of matches. Add to that his poor form arising from post world cup fatigue and niggling injuries, you have a frustrated striker who’s failing to live up to the fan’s expectations. Yes, I concede there’s more he can do in terms of leading from the front, etc., but at the best of times, when he’s done this, there’s been no correponding reaction from his teammates. So what we’ve seen in such instances is henry’s “i should’ve gone to Barcelona” body language. All this pressure and crisis of expectation is not good on the captain. Wenger is right. He should take his rest, recover his form, and work on his leadership. My advice to him, is to firm up on his belief in the team, mentor the youngsters, be patient with his mates and basically stop thinking about help coming from outside the current crop of players. The transfer window is not the answer. Yes, I know there’s a need for a blend of youth and experience but there’s enough arsenal in the players we already have, who need only motivation and leadership to show their true mettle, (not just the occasional flash of brilliance we’ve become accustomed to). Henry, believe! It can be done! And Arsene, please…let’s change tact from now on: if a player is in the box, he must shoot! its the only way to hit the net, force errors leading to goal, etc. May i suggest a new golden rule: there shall be no more pretty passing in the box starting with the Porto game. Yes, we must continue to dominate posession and play the passing game anywhere else except for the 18 yard box. We don’t need new players. We need a blend between the entertaining and winning game; between passing and shooting when it matters the most. Just shoot please!
Azar you use you f’king brain mate. Every season we hear this shit how “his the best player in the world”….. Come on! Just scoring 30 goals for 5 seaons in a row doesn’t make you world Player of the year material. You have to win trophy’s like the Premiership or Champions League or world cup on a consistent basis. And He certainly doesn’t. He is freaking overated.
PS: I wouldn’t give a fig if you called Rooney overated becasue he is below 22, still developing and has won world young player of teh year already proving you wrong. Unlike the overated Henry.
Keith, your statements show your understanding of the game: not much.
Teams win trophies, individual players don’t. If Arsenal haven’t won the Champions League, then the team is lacking. But on the other hand, if a player is consistently scoring a fuckload of goals every season, he IS worldclass. Especially if the team is young and hasn’t yet hit its prime.
World Cup on a consistent basis? It happens every four years you idiot, and of the three world cups that he’s played in, he was extremely influential in France’s run to the final, won the bloody thing in 98 while being France’s top scorer. Excellent performances in two out of three is grounds for calling him overrated? He’s also the third highest scorer in the Champions League, that I’m sure in your books is grounds for saying he doesn’t perform in the Champions League either.
You just seem really bitter that he’s listed as one of, if not the best, in the world.
Oh, and Cesc Fabregas has won the World Young Player of the Year, not Rooney.
@mkl: Luca Toni and van Nistelrooy? They are players who specialize in one thing and don’t really come close to the kind of overall attributes Henry possesses.
Both of you should come up with better arguments and less bitterness when you comment on Henry next time.
Rocky,
You say yourself that; “if a player is consistently scoring a fuckload of goals every season, he IS worldclass.” So what does Toni and RVN do? Is it better when Henry scores because he has those young and inexperienced player around? And I just used Toni and RVN to point that scoring is not the same thing that being the best. And you seemed to agree with that.
And about your World Cup arguments:
WC98, Henry scored three goals and two of them against the mighty Saudi Arabia. He didn’t play a minute in final. He impressed then, that’s right, but only because he was only 21 and quite unknown.
WC02, France or Henry didn’t score a single goal in the tournament.
WC06, Henry scored three goals, but was overally a disappointment for many. He was supposed to carry France to final, but as he wasn’t able to do - France was lucky to still have Zidane. (Only in a game against Brazil I’d give him MOM award)
In sum, six goals in three tournaments = mediocre, and w/o Zidane, France would have not won anything in those tournaments.
Do Luca Toni and van Nistelrooy possess the kind of all round passing, vision, technique and creativity that Henry possesses? Right, now that that’s out of the way…
So you agree that a 21 year old Henry, scoring three goals in the 4 matches that he played (not to mention, on left wing, not striker) was impressive. Excellent, moving on…
WC02: Agreed, he had a bad tournament, but so did the French, and any player would suffer if he had his most potent providers missing (Zidane, Pires).
WC06: Henry was played as a lone striker for most of the tournament, and it’s a well known fact that he doesn’t do too well in terms of scoring in that formation. Yet, he led the line admirably and returned four goals. He was “supposed” to carry France to the final? Again, refer to the concept of football as a team sport.
I would also urge you to look at Henry’s scoring statistics in the qualifying runs to the European and World Cups. I’m sure it takes a really mediocre player on the international stage to be nearing Platini’s all-time record.
You’re biased in your opinion but what really discredits your analysis is a blind eye to the overall performance of Henry for club and country. No player can “carry” a team to the final, not since Maradona anyway. And if you’re that keen to find a player who can, I suggest you dig your nose back into your Roy of the ROvers scrapbook.
Rocky you are an idiot. Why?
1. Rooney has won the world young player of the world at list twice already. Go check on your facts. Pointing out Fabregas’s one win is laughable
2. Misses by individual players cost teams trophies you nonce. It’s Henry who cost Arsenal the Champions league final not the team. Just the same way BAGGIO Cost Italy the World Cup in 94 E.T.C
3. I don’t need to be bitter about Henry at all. He is just overated. Ronaldinho’s is better than and everyone else who matters thinks so that’s why Henry isn’t a world player of the year or Euopeean footballer of the year.
4. France had no strikers in 98. So their play was based on getting wingers to score goals and attaking midfielders. Henry scoring 4 goals wasn’t impressive in the least. How many did Ronaldo (Brazil) score eh?
5. You say no one can carry a team in a final? What was Zidane doing? He gets sent off in teh Wrold cup final and France freaking collapse in penalties.
6. Where do you get off comparing a half 9 like Henry to out and out center forwards like Toni or VanNistelooy? Why not compare him to players like Totti, Bergkamp, Baggio, Ronaldo (Brazil) who play like him? Rooney even who is way better than Henry was at his age
7. 4 Goals for whom the British press call “the best in the world” in a world cup is pathetic with Zizou and Ribery in your side. Especially when a lesser mortal like Klose could out score him!
Heh, let’s do this point by point:
1. I didn’t say Rooney never won the award mentioned above: I was responding because I thought you were implying that he’s the current holder.
2. Did Henry cost Arsenal the Champions League final? How? Pray tell. To all observers, he led the line admirably with ten men on the field. Lehmann’s red card cost us the match, not Henry. And Baggio was instrumental in helping Italy reach the final anyway, how you can single him out for Italy’s loss over a missed penalty (when penalties are Russian Roulette anyway) is beyond me.
3. Henry has consistently outscored and had more assists than Ronaldinho. Enough said.
4. France didn’t have any strikers in ‘98? Stephane Guivarc’h, Youri Djorkaeff (played center forward) and one of the hottest strikers in Europe at the time: Christoph Dugarry. Again, thanks for showing your incredible understanding of the game by saying 4 goals from the win in as many matches on the biggest international stage at the age of 20 isn’t impressive at all.
5. Zidane was instrumental in taking France to the final, just like Henry, Gallas, Vieira and Thuram were. As for France’s “collapse” on penalties: see Roulette reference in point 2.
6. mkl compared Toni, van Nistelrooy and Henry. Oh, and Mega-Heh at saying different players shouldn’t be compared when you compared an out-and-out striker like Ronaldo to a (then) left-winger like Thierry Henry.
7. Again, thanks for noticing that Germany and France played different systems. Henry’s hold up play allowed the likes of Zidane, Malouda, Ribery and Vieira to get into goalscoring positions, whereas Klose was playing with Podolski just to score goals.
Final word though, in my opinion, despite Henry’s consistent good performances for France, the league and Europe are much higher stages of football and we all know how good Henry is in those competitions. Your assertion that Henry ISN’T worldclass is childish at best.
3.
Hey, let’s do this point by point:
WEll let me put you in your place point by point:
1. I didn’t say Rooney never won the award mentioned above: I was responding because I thought you were implying that he’s the current holder.
Liar. You were trying to look clever.
2. Did Henry cost Arsenal the Champions League final? How? Pray tell. To all observers, he led the line admirably with ten men on the field. Lehmann’s red card cost us the match, not Henry. And Baggio was instrumental in helping Italy reach the final anyway, how you can single him out for Italy’s loss over a missed penalty (when penalties are Russian Roulette anyway) is beyond me.
Please Henry freaking missed three clear chances in the final that should have handed you the trophy. In addition it’s Lehmann’s penalty save that booked your final place not your precious Henry. Check your facts again. AS for Baggio, his missed cost Italy the world cup it’s that simple. What he did before the final was largely irrelevant in that case.
As for penalties they are a skill not guess work you dimw wit. That’s why Czech’s and Germans have never lost on penalties except to each other. While guessers who leave things to chance like the English and Dutch always lose on spot kicks.
3. Henry has consistently outscored and had more assists than Ronaldinho. Enough said.
Out score Ronaldinho? So what!! So has Raul. Raul has even outscored Henry to date yet they are of similar ages. So what?
Out assisted: Says who? Check out Laliga stats again. And while your at it check out who has won a world cup, champions league trophy and a couple of league titles and world player of the year titles plus a ballon d’onor since 2002. Nough said.
4. France didn’t have any strikers in ‘98? Stephane Guivarc’h, Youri Djorkaeff (played center forward) and one of the hottest strikers in Europe at the time: Christoph Dugarry. Again, thanks for showing your incredible understanding of the game by saying 4 goals from the win in as many matches on the biggest international stage at the age of 20 isn’t impressive at all.
You’re a moron. Dugarry played wide right, Guivach was untested and thus flopped in the world cup while Djorkaeef was an attacking midfielder of the Paul Scholes variety. Just because he could score some goals doesn’t negate the fact. France in 98 won the world cup without a single striker to boot. Even Henry who was tried upfront was a left winger out of postion upfront. However with Zidane, Viera,Deschamps and Bohogossian providing him with amo and Djorakaeff any player worth is salt would have scored at least 4 times. Wether at 20 or younger or older. The fact that Guivach was not a player worth anything proves my point further that France had no strikers. Didn’t the punk flop at Newcastle?
5. Zidane was instrumental in taking France to the final, just like Henry, Gallas, Vieira and Thuram were. As for France’s “collapse� on penalties: see Roulette reference in point 2.
Confimring your moronic status. Well done….
6. mkl compared Toni, van Nistelrooy and Henry. Oh, and Mega-Heh at saying different players shouldn’t be compared when you compared an out-and-out striker like Ronaldo to a (then) left-winger like Thierry Henry.
Henry was playing upfornt so he can be classified as a stiker. Besides he and Ronaldo were both inexpereinced so you don’t escape the facts pal.
7. Again, thanks for noticing that Germany and France played different systems. Henry’s hold up play allowed the likes of Zidane, Malouda, Ribery and Vieira to get into goalscoring positions, whereas Klose was playing with Podolski just to score goals.
So according to your dim brain Klose never had any hold up play what so ever? On top of that you are under the illusion Podolski set up Kolse’s goals? How many assists for France did your precious Henry have anyway at the world cup 06? I’m sure theyr are less than 3. Yet France scored far more goals than that didn’t they?
Final word though, in my opinion, despite Henry’s consistent good performances for France, the league and Europe are much higher stages of football and we all know how good Henry is in those competitions. Your assertion that Heniry ISN’T worldclass is childish at best.
I never said he isnt world class. I said he is freaking overated and is clearly not the best around. He is just world class liek Ruud or Raul but is not a world beater like the Brazilian Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane or Ronaldinho.
I’m really not wasting any more time responding to these playground nonsense arguments that contradict each other even before you can come up with another clever placement of the word “moron”. Especially as you’ve failed to convince anyone with half a brain that Henry is over-rated.
i think it really depends on henry,we know he is the main man for arsenal. in my opinion i think he should stay not because of the money or fame but simply because at this present moment he is the most and best experienced attacker arsenal has got. yes the youngsters has been on a role winning liverpool and other big teams but they’re still young and unless arsenal wants to wait another 3 or 4 years to win or get to at least the semi final of the champions leauge they’re better off keeping henry.and those of you who yhinks henry is more highly rated than arsenal i would like to ask you to think of arsenal and what comes into your head would and should be henry!so he is well and highly rated than the club because he is simply the best and it was henry who lead me to support arsenal in the first place.
i think henry is a star wherever he goes but at barcelona hes better cause arsenal r all youths