SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums College, Pro & International Soccer Henry to barca

I am not a Gunners fan, but this really stinks for the EPL as I feel he is a tremendous player!!!!!

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has signed with FC Barcelona, Spanish news report said.

Barcelona will pay �24 million (US$32 million) for Henry, who signed a 4-year deal, Cadena Ser radio and the newspaper El Pais said.
A Barcelona official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an announcement about Henry would be made by Saturday.

Henry has been with Arsenal since 1999, scoring a club record 226 goals in 364 appearances for the Gunners. He helped the London club win two Premier League titles and four FA Cups.

Henry's agent, Jerome Anderson, recently denied reports he was negotiating the player's move to Barcelona.

Henry, who turns 30 in August, still had three years left on his contract. But speculation of his departure increased after Arsenal failed to win a trophy last season and finished only fourth in the Premier League for the second year in a row.

Henry acknowledged he was upset that David Dein, who was responsible for bringing manager Arsene Wenger to the club in 1996, quit as vice chairman of Arsenal.

Wenger, who has led Arsenal to three Premier League and four FA Cup triumphs, has said he has no plans to follow Dein away from the club. But he, too, has been linked with a possible move to Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Henry spent much of last season sidelined because of stomach and groin injuries. But he remains one of the game's biggest stars with his ability to score top-quality goals and beat defenses with his fast runs and dribbling.

Henry also helped the Gunners reach the Champions League final in 2006, only for Arsenal to lose to Barcelona. He was frustrated that Arsenal did not strengthen its playing squad with big names and expressed his disappointment when the Gunners sold Patrick Vieira to Juventus two years ago

Barcelona close in on Henry deal

Forza Barca!!!!!

Arsenal will fair well after this deal. I think the Gunners relied too much on the star while he was on the field this year and actually played better as a whole when he was off with one of his injuries. Hopefully they'll pick up one or two big goal scorers (Owen?) and make a decent run next season.
Go Gunners!

From The Sun newspaper in London:

Arsene can find something to do with $32 million dollars. They are a bargain basement club that buys them very young. This will help them find a replacement...should the board let him use it as transfer kitty.

Tevez to Arsenal?!?!

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/6962032

Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva set to join Arsenal



Arsenal Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed with Dinamo Zagreb for the transfer of striker Eduardo Da Silva on a four year contract for an undisclosed fee, subject to a medical.

Da Silva (24), was born in Brazil but moved to Croatia at the age of 15 and took Croatian nationality in 2002. The striker scored the first competitive goal in European football at Emirates Stadium when Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 5-1 on aggregate in last season�s UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round.

Eduardo has made 12 appearances for the Croatian national team scoring seven goals, including one of his country�s goals in their 2-0 Euro 2008 Qualifier victory over England in October 2006.

Manager Arsene Wenger had been keen to recruit a proven goalscorer, with Newcastle duo Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen reported to be on his shopping list.

However, the Gunners boss is now likely to turn his attentions to defensive cover following the signing of da Silva, who finished the Croatian season as their top scorer with a record 34 goals.

Wenger, who has been recharging his batteries at an Italian health resort ahead of the pre-season schedule, is now expected to step up his interest in Auxerre full-back Bakary Sagna.

This Arsenal boasts numerous weapons
Jeff Williams, Newsday.com
[email protected]

January 6, 2008

Back in June, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had to make one of the most difficult decisions of his career, to sell his striker Thierry Henry to Barcelona. Henry had been the backbone of Arsenal, scoring 226 goals since arriving from Juventus in 1999.

The fair question was, could Arsenal achieve the heights it had while Henry was dazzling the English Premier League? The Gunners won two Premiership titles and three FA Cups with Henry as their leader, and there was no doubt that it was Henry that made Arsenal explosive.

After the sale to Barcelona, Wenger challenged his young team. "They want to prove to me they have the quality," Wenger said back then. "I am convinced we have the quality and with great belief, we can do very well. That will decide our season."

So now we are at the midpoint of the season and Arsenal sits atop the Premier League, having proven Wenger's astute assessment that his plethora of youthful talent would bloom when his brilliant rose had left.

And what an abundance of young brilliance Wenger has.

Midfielders Cesc Fabregas, 20, Mathieu Flamini, 23, Alexandre Song, 20, strikers Emmanuel Adebayor, 23, Robin Van Persie, 24, and defenders Gael Clichy, 20, Emmanuel Eboue, 24, and Kolo Toure, 26, are central to Arsenal's present success and are sure to make the Gunners a top team for years.

Just before Christmas, Fabregas, a Spaniard with excellent ball control who can score and distribute the ball with flare, spoke candidly about Henry's departure.

"I have more responsibility than before," Fabregas said. "When you looked at Arsenal a year or two years ago, you just saw Thierry Henry. It was a little bit like the other players did not exist. But when he left, it was an opportunity for everybody to show we are a team. Even if the best player in the world is leaving us, we can still achieve something."

Thats a littel old news!!!

considering he has been playing since summer of 2007.

P.S. MIKE BASSET good combination of Italian with a Spanish Team. Forza??