Thierry Henry will be a success in Spain but Arsenal are doing a great bit of business by getting £16 million for a player who will be 30 in less than two months’ time.

A large part of the Frenchman’s game is reliant on speed and that, I think, has already started to wane. He probably has one or two more seasons at the top, but at Barcelona he will have to fight for his place from day one.

Arsene Wenger is a true master in the transfer market and as hard as it is to replace Henry, who would bet against the Arsenal boss using the £16m to bring in a new young striker who may have us saying in a few years: ‘‘Henry who?’’

'Many names have cropped up as Henry`s replacement but Nicolas Anelka’s is by far the most interesting. Is it possible that Wenger believes he could turn around the career of the Incredible Sulk?'


Media reports suggest that Arsenal may actually be after two strikers, one young and one experienced. Many names have cropped up as Henry`s replacement but Nicolas Anelka’s is by far the most interesting. Is it possible that Wenger believes he could turn around the career of the Incredible Sulk?

Remember the potential that Anelka had when he was under Wenger`s stewardship before? He had the talent to become as good as or even better than Henry - but bad advice and a shocking attitude meant that his talent was wasted. And although we have seen glimpses of what could have been, he is in reality a mediocre striker now.

However, Wenger may feel that the player has matured and if the Gunners boss were to take him on again, Anelka will know that this is his last chance to become the player he should already be. At the moment this is all media speculation, but Wenger has the potential to surprise us all and I think there is little doubt that Anelka would jump at the chance to let Arsene rekindle his career.

There is also talk of Wenger leaving Arsenal but I can’t see that happening. Some say that Henry leaving could be a sign that Wenger may join him in Spain, but the simple fact is that Wenger has always cashed in on his major stars when the time was right. Think back to Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Viera; now you can add Henry to that list of players the manager thinks have offered all they can to the club.

I believe Wenger is looking to the future by selling Henry. With the cash he can improve his squad; he already has an array of young talent that, if supplemented with a bit of experience in midfield and attack, could produce a very different Arsenal next year. An Arsenal that do not only want to play pretty football but also want to win games - even if that means results become more important than playing the game beautifully.

This is going to be one of the most interesting transfer seasons at Arsenal for years. It is out with the old and in with the new, but the big question is: Can Wenger pull off another transfer miracle and will the new be as good as the old that has served the Arsenal faithful so well?