Former Arsenal hero and captain Thierry Henry ended a 2-year saga by telling his Arsenal fans through the British tabloid newspaper The SUN:

It´s now or never for me... sadly it must be now!

He rounded it all up, by claiming:

I still have to pass a medical on Monday. But yes, I have chosen Barcelona. I am going to sign there for the next four seasons... for the football they play, their history, their stadium. For Frank Rijkaard, who I grew up watching.

Hmm, let me think now. With other words, after proclaiming he would finish his career at Arsenal, this actually means he wants to change because Barca play a more attractive football, have more history and the better stadium than Arsenal. As well as a coach that he admires. Or did I read something wrong in here?


I mean, I agree with him totally and I can fully understand his motives to join the Blaugrana. When we received plenty of Gooner comments who had a go at us, they made obviously clear, that he would not join Barca because TH14 is no money grabber. This makes it even better. I like players who join Barca for the right motives and not purely for the money.


I have to be honest and admit that I had a smile on my face and grinned all morning while I was reading the morning papers in the hot Barcelona sun and sipped on my "cafe con leche" and an ice cold coke (what a mixture!) after a long night out.





Looking at the headlines I also remembered one of our first photos on the blog showing Thierry Henry in a Barca shirt! What was meant as a little joke went around the world and left some Gooners very annoyed. Just for the laugh of it: Remember where you saw it first! probably the first picture ever of Theirry Henry in a Barca shirt!





Whatever changed Henry´s mind on the night of Barca´s Champions League triumph, the reason´s he had to do so, did not last very long.


I still remember his famous last words:

I’ve never played in Spain and never will. This is my last contract!

Player´s do tend to change their minds quickly and obviously Henry decided to become a Barca players for the next 4 years, costing the club 24 Mill. Euro and a salary of roughly 9 Mill. Euro a year.


In my opinion it is a very good deal for Barca and not a good one for Arsenal. While FC Barcelona is a football club and not a bank or investment vehicle, Barca´s objective is not to put money on a savings account but to invest in players. The 24 mill. Euros are not invested in a future talent that will make a transfer profit but Barca is buying a complete world class triker who is able to score 30 goals a season and should be in his prime time bat this age. Most great strikers had their best moments at 30 or even over. In a squad like Barca have, I truly believe Henry can still do a fantastic job, even at the end of his contract, when he is nearly 34. Remember, former Celtic legend Larsson, who was a great asset in this age and won us the UEFA Champions League in 2006.


All this talk about Henry being over his top and even finished at the age of nearly 30, is absolute utter nonsense. I can really not understand this part of Gooners who insulted our blog over a year and now turn on him after TH14 was a hero for 8 years and captained the Gunners to domestic glory. Branding him a lame invalid is just too much. I would rather like them to look at today´s Arseblog article (I do not entirely agree with it) who at least appreciated the service that the Arsenal captain gave the supporters over his 8 year spell at Highbury and the Emirate´s. But as a person who lived in Barcelona, the Arseblogger should have known things better than the consistent snipe at our blog, just for the sake that this was what his visitor´s wanted to read. A year ago, I must admit, I would have liked the return train journey from Paris to Barcelona (totally packed with celebrating Barca fans) taking a detour, via Marrakesh or Istanbul. Today I am only having a great smile on my face and feel:


"It´s F...in´ excellent!"


But never mind, I know the time will come when I will not be smiling, but it is still


"F...in´ excellent!


You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the money spent won´t bag Barca a huge transfer profit but I am convinced that Henry will pay back in goals and of course, merchandising. I truly believe the 24 mill Euros are very well spent (not cheap, but...), just thinking about what Arsenal will have to spent to replace their long year goal getter with a proven striker when players like Darren Bent already cost the same as Henry. And are there many players around like Thierry Henry? I doubt it!


We already had the best attacking line in the world, but with Henry we added another valuable player to it. I just hope that the Barca Board decided to go with all 4 players into the new season and do not sell Eto´o or Ronaldinho. Ronnie, Eto´o, Messi and/or Henry, I get very excited!


FC Barcelona and President Joan Laporta have done their job. Now it is up to Henry to entertain the Barca fans in Camp Nou at the highest level. It is not easy to please the Barca fans because they are demanding. Now TH14 has the platform to show and prove, if he is really one of the best! Ball is on his side now!


It took probably one year too long, but rather late then never! Welcome, Thierry!