The player has confirmed that he is leaving and so Life Without Henry begins. Apparently my waiting for confirmation from someone involved in the transfer is the wrong way to do it. In future, I shall believe all of the media speculation for it is the truth, with no lies in it all.

I don’t have any bitterness about the decision; Henry has given his peak years to Club, scored the vast majority of goals in that period and contributed to the success achieved along the way. He seeks to move on to improve himself professionally and personally. It is only right that he should enjoy his work – and football is just that for the players – and he has been patently unhappy at the Club for the best part of two seasons. It is not a decision that has come lightly on his part nor is it something that has happened in recent months. He came back from the last World Cup unhappy, injury and the off-the-field shenanigans have exacerbated those feelings. The memories Henry leave behind on the pitch are numerous; the goals, the success and his contribution is something no-one can diminish. It would be a pity if his legacy is lessened through misplaced bitterness over the manner of his departure.

Alan Smith in today’s Daily Telegraph puts forward a decent appraisal of the situation. Henry’s assertion that he is amongst other things, unable to wait for the outcome of Arsene’s contract negotiations is understandable, given the age factor of the player. This has led to criticism of Wenger, accusations on some Boards of disloyalty. The hypocrisy is stunning, demanding loyalty yet being disloyal in turn. It seems to me to be more than a little pointless in railing against the decision or seeking someone to blame. It would be better to find constructiveness for the future. This transfer will not bring about any clarification of Wenger’s future; it is not the defining action in that respect. The outcome of it may well have a bearing at the end of the season but not right now. To seek it is futile.

The key thing now though is the future. There is no ready made replacement for Henry, a unique player in his prime. However, there are different types of players to carry out the main strikers role at the Club, speculation already rife on that front. At the Club already there is a partial replacement in RvP, a capable goalscorer before injury last season but there has to be another source of goals in the front line. Adebayor is a different option but the pair of them are insufficient to sustain a whole season on their own. It is logical to believe that AW has identified who he would like to bring in. The timing of the move is beneficial for Arsenal, there is time to bring someone in before the start of the new season, perhaps even in time for pre-season training. Better that Henry has gone now than at the end of August which would have been truly destabilising for next season.

New strikers seem to be ten aplenty, according to our new media Gods. Ryan Babbel was being touted as a potential left sided player which is possible, yet we need an international class goalscorer. Anelka is one but I am unconvinced he is the solution. Michael Owen is a proven goalscorer, his injuries last season make it risky in much the same way that Henry is for Barcelona. Could Eto’o leave Barcelona? Possibly, there is a school of thought that Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto’o and Henry do not fit into one team. David Villa is perhaps the closest in style of play to Henry but he has made it clear he wants to stay in Valencia and to be honest, the cost will be more than Arsenal could afford even with new owners. Fernando Torres is one player I like and seemingly will be moving this Summer. His fee could be offset by Reyes, making it more palatable and offering a solution to everyone. Perhaps we could take Berbatov from Tottenham…

Going to be interesting for the rest of the Summer