Reading the Sunday’s was an interesting exercise in how far a point can be stretched. Rather like The Master in Doctor Who, it seems that the assembled football hacks have undergone some mass hypnosis, swallowed all of Henry’s interview(s) about leaving as the truth without questioning anything. Perhaps it is because what he said reflected the scaremongering that they are perpetuating; the implosion at the Club is happening with a great speed on the back pages but frustratingly for them, the situation is not being reflected at the Club.

The reasons for Henry leaving; you know them, he has imparted them often enough in recent weeks so why do I have the nagging feeling that he did not tell the whole truth over the weekend? More importantly, am I concerned with those reasons, unless they are fundamental to the Club and the way it is run, as a whole and not just in the case of Thierry Henry? The answer is ‘not really’. He has his reasons for going, he has made his choice and I wish him well in the future. I do not buy the Dein and Wenger arguments as a reason for going, they are too insubstantial for me. A footballer knows that at some point in his career the manager will change so why throw it into the mix unless it is to divert away from the real reason. I would have no less respect for Henry if he had come out and said, “I am going because I don’t think that I will win the Champions League at Arsenal and that is what I really want to do”. You cannot argue with that sort of reasoning, it is about personal ambition something that everyone has.

New angles for the media to explore come out of the woodwork this morning though with Stan Kroenke apparently wanting a meeting with Danny Fiszman to know the strategic policies of the Board. Which is a bizarre thing for The Daily Telegraph to claim as surely he would have discussed them with Lord Peter and Edelman when they met in New York recently? Could it be that that the ones who really want to know are the media because the Club and Kroenke have passed no comment on their exchange of views? It is unlikely that Kroenke will say much because of his words carrying impact in the financial markets so it remains up to the Board to pass comment. Which I doubt very much that they will. An interesting angle for the media to take is that Kroenke has invested in the Club which I have to say is news to me. He has bought shares which is his investment but has he funded anything through the Club? The last I heard, his offer of transfer funds had been politely declined, probably because the Board had a good idea that Henry was on his way.

The Board meanwhile have decided to offer Arsene a new three year deal this week which is taking a holding position and because it won’t be signed straight away, will fuel more speculation that Wenger is not going to renew his contract. In the eyes of the media, the Board can do no right although no-one seems to be coming up with any information about any possible takeover although rumours are beginning to circulate that Dein will not be involved with a Kroenke bid. But given that the bid is speculation, that means that the media are now speculating about their own speculation. What tangled webs they weave.

Finally for today, the Anelka bid that Arsene is supposed to want to make seems to be crashing down around his ears with the player reportedly unhappy with Henry’s comments about his reasons for leaving and the Board not happy with any bid for the player, which is not surprising given the acrimony that his departure caused although I thought primarily it was DD who was annoyed with one of the brothers and not the player? All of which means that no doubt he will be signed by the end of the week. Or could it all just be speculation?

’til Tomorrow. Unless of course another player leaves…

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