Great Article which says it all

[Gooner Chris]

The writing was probably on the wall when Thierry Henry said he was an Arsenal player "for now" in a recent interview.

And as the speculation about his future continued, neither he nor the club came out with a definitive statement confirming that next season Henry would be tying on his boots and pulling his socks up above his knees at the Emirates as usual.

So it wasn't the biggest surprise when reports started to emerge from Spain on Friday evening that Barcelona were saying off the record that they had Henry's signature in the bag.

But my heart still skipped and stopped, like Henry sidestepping an opponent, when the news first flashed up on my computer screen.

Working as a sports journalist there's nothing better than a big breaking transfer story. Except when it happens to be the club you support selling their record goalscorer.

And, oh, what goals they were. Who can forget his hat-tricks against Liverpool and Roma, his double at Inter, solo efforts from inside his own half against Spurs and Real Madrid, or his flick up and volley over Fabien Barthez against Man Utd? The list goes on.

These are the moments when you remember just why you pay four figures for a season ticket.

So where does this leave Arsenal? Well last season was probably a pretty good indication. And, in my view, the answer is not in as bad a position as some are bound to say. Even without Henry for half the season the team were more consistent than the previous year when the team struggled to come to terms with Patrick Vieira's departure.

Yes, Arenal finished fourth for the second straight year, but, as well as Henry, Robin van Persie, William Gallas, Tomas Rosicky, Freddie Ljungberg, Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue all missed large chunks of the season.

True, Henry is the figurehead at Arsenal, and none of those players has achieved anything like the level of greatness that the Frenchman has in English football.

But the truth is, for all his breathtaking ability, his goalscoring prowess and his inspiring charisma, Henry stopped being the main man at the Emirates some time before tonight.

If there is one player who is irreplaceable at Arsenal right now, it's Cesc Fabregas rather than Henry.

Cesc is the heartbeat of this Arsenal side, and when he finally follows Henry back to Spain, as he surely will one day, it may be beyond even Arsene Wenger to cover the gap.

I would still love to see Henry finish his career at the Emirates, but he turns 30 this summer and there's no doubt that he's spent his finest years at Arsenal.

For that I feel grateful and privileged to have witnessed such grace and skill for so long. And I wish him well for the future.

The likes of Armand Traore, Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou, Denilson, Diaby and of course Cesc showed in Arsenal's Carling Cup run that the club has the best young talent in the country.

If Wenger invests the money earned from the sale of Henry, plus whatever was already in his transfer chest, in a couple of experienced players to help guide these youngsters and to back up the ever improving Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor, I have every confidence the team will progress again next season.

Henry said he was "devastated" about David Dein leaving, but it may be that his mind was already turned towards Spain by that stage and he was just preparing the ground for his move.

A rare few players align themselves with board members in football, so it’s hard to think this is the start of an exodus, even though some will say the double departure leaves the club in some kind of crisis.

One of my colleagues paraphrased Oscar Wilde by saying "to lose one Arsenal legend may be regarded as a misfortune... to lose two seems like carelessness".

Some will now speculate that two will become three and that Wenger will be next. But anyone with any knowledge of Wenger’s modus operandi will understand that he’ll at least see out the year on his contract, despite the rumours of job offers from around Europe.

As long as Wenger is calling the shots off the pitch and Cesc is pulling the strings on it, I’ll be confident that Arsenal have a bright future with or without the undoubted brilliance of Henry.