France’s star forward Thierry Henry has agreed a four year deal with Spanish powerhouse Barcelona. Henry, who was widely regarded as one the best players of the English Premier League in recent years, will now get an opportunity to play alongside fellow greats like Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi. The transfer fee is believed to be around 16 millions pounds.

Things have not worked out well for Arsenal in the last couple of years. The departure of Pires, Vieira and Campbell has left a huge void in the team. Arsenal also have not been able to find a quality replacement for Dennis Bergkamp. With the departure of David Dein and the reluctance of Wenger to extend his contract, the departure of Henry seemed inevitable.

It would be immensely challenging for Arsenal to replace their talismanic striker. The names of Nicolas Anelka and  Aiyegbeni Yakubu have already been suggested by some as replacements. As for Barcelona, they have completed a huge coup. You don’t get better strikers than Thierry Henry !