Odds and Sods

Thierry Henry is another big named striker who has seen his name popping up in transfer rumors.  Since joining Arsenal in 1999, Henry has arguably been the best player to ply his trade in England in the Premiership era.  He has amassed 226 goals, enough to make him Arsenal’s all time leading score, a run that included 5 straight 30 goal campaigns (only broken by this year’s injury plagued season).  He has led Arsenal to 2 league titles, 3 FA Cup wins, and a Champions League final appearance.  For France, he has 39 goals in 91 caps and was a member of the World Cup Winning squad in 1998 and the Euro 2000 champions.

His individual honors include two Player’s Player of the Year Awards, three Football Writer’s Player of the Year awards, two Onze d’Ors, and two European Golden Boot’s.  He has also lead the Premier League in goals on four separate occasions.  He has also been noted for his work in the Stand Up Speak Up campaign to combat racism in European football.

Despite rampant speculation about him va va vooming to Barcelona after the 2006 season, TH14 signed a four year contract with the Gunners, which he stated would be his last professional contract.

There has been speculation during the 2006-7 that Henry would like to leave Arsenal, or that Arsenal wished to rid themselves of Henry.  There have been concerns that the 29 year-old may have sciatica, which is manageable but not treatable.  This, as well as groin and stomach muscle problems, limited him to just 17 domestic appearances, in which he scored 10 goals.  There has also been reported tension between him and manager Arsene Wenger over the lack of player signings to help strengthen the squad and between him and the board over the sacking of David Dein.
Inter-Milan and Barcelona have reported interest, with estimated 15mGBP offers on the table.  However, all the interest has been largely one-sided, leaked through club officials or their newspaper mouthpieces.  Henry has repeatedly stated that he has no desire to leave Arsenal, as long as Wenger remains at the club.  Wenger guranteed today that Henry would not be sold in the summer.  Sans a massive falling out between the two, it appears that Thierry Henry will remain at the Emirates for at least one more year.