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Agony eased for Arsenal as Henry says: 'I'm staying'
By Matt Hughes
ARSENAL’S Champions League heartache will be soothed today by the news that Thierry Henry is ready to commit his future to the club. It is understood that a new four-year contract has been agreed in principle between the player and the club, with Henry preparing to announce his intentions and put pen to paper.
After prevaricating for most of the season, Henry is finally ready to end speculation of a move to Barcelona by signing a new contract, which may explain the strangely positive mood of David Dein, the Arsenal vice-chairman, when he landed at Gatwick in the early hours of yesterday after the club’s defeat in Paris.
Henry had pledged to announce his decision before the start of the World Cup on June 9 but has resolved to put Arsenal’s fans out of their misery early, revealing his intentions today and signing the new deal before joining up with the France squad next week.
After agonising for many months, he came close to indicating his intentions on the return flight from Paris, with sources close to the player confirming that his emotional reference to unfinished business should be interpreted as affirmation of his intention to stay.
“We are sorry not to bring back the cup but we gave it our best out there,” Henry told the club’s executive supporters. “Hopefully you enjoyed the run. We will take this on the chin and come back better.”
Having challenged the club to prove they matched his “sporting ambition” in January, he appears satisfied that they are travelling in the right direction, largely owing to the fact they have qualified for next season’s Champions League in addition to reaching the final of this year’s competition.
Arsenal’s willingness to back Arsène Wenger’s judgment in the transfer market last January, when he spent £22 million on Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Abou Diaby was also significant, while the move to the Emirates Stadium and £20 million revenue from this season’s Champions League campaign will enable him to strengthen the squad further this summer. Henry’s mind has also been swayed by personal factors, most notably the desire of his wife, Nicole Merry, to stay in London, with the 28-year-old expressing his fondness for the capital last week after receiving his third Footballer of the Year award from the Football Writers’ Association.
Barcelona have retained their interest but were distinctly unimpressed by the Frenchman’s critical comments of their players after defeat in the Stade de France. Henry’s decision to leave Nike for a £10 million, five-year sponsorship deal with Reebok last month also affected thinking at the Nou Camp, as the club were hoping to use him as an important plank of their own Nike-dominated commercial activities.
With Andriy Shevchenko set to leave AC Milan, the Italian club represented another viable option, but Henry had no wish to return to Italy after a difficult spell at Juventus, particularly with Italian football in such a state of crisis because of the scandal that has erupted over the selection of match officials.
Although he exchanged embraces with Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o after Wednesday’s defeat, Henry was certainly not courting popularity in Barcelona yesterday, renewing his attack on Carles Puyol, the captain, and Rafael Márquez, and even hinting at an international conspiracy in favour of the Spaniards.
“Puyol and Márquez massacred my ankles but they were not punished,” he said. “Now I think back to Shevchenko’s disallowed goal against Barcelona (when the Milan forward was alleged to have fouled Puyol).”
Henry spoke far more warmly about Arsenal, who may soon be without Robert Pires — he is expected to sign a two-year contract at Villarreal next week — while Ashley Cole will discuss his future with his agent over the weekend.
“I’m more than proud,” Henry said. “People talk, maybe rightly so sometimes, about Barcelona being the best team in Europe, but I’m sorry. People can talk about magic, but I didn’t see any magic last night.”
For Arsenal fans, Henry’s name on a new contract will be a magical sight indeed.
The Times
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