You could also interpret his transfer in different ways when looking at the intentions of Arsene Wenger. There are two possible theories. The first one, which all Arsenal fans will be hoping is true, is that clearly the Arsenal negotiating team’s style is more of a war of attrition than anything else; meaning they intend to sign another striker but because they tend to take so long they might need the whole of January.
If this was the case then clearly the singing of Henry, whilst useful, would mainly be a backup plan for January whilst the board attempts to sign another player. However the other scenario, which is far more likely, is that whilst the Arsenal board may be looking at other targets they are perfectly happy to sign no further players.
It may be the case that Henry really is just the backup whilst Gervinho and Chamakh head to the African Cup of Nations. This is slightly more worrying considering that Arsenal’s problems up front will exist not over this two-month period but over the whole rest of the season. If Chamakh and Park are not good enough to come on for van Persie in a game now, why would they be in three months time?
The signing of a 34-year-old striker who has been out of top-level football for two years is also a damning indictment of our South Korean striker Park Chu Young. People talk about Park’s adaptation period but frankly who has ever heard of an adaptation period that involves playing three or four times in half a season. How can he adapt without playing? Per Mertesacker is having an adaptation period; Park is having a period of barely being good enough to make the bench. And as if we couldn’t tell that from his lack of game time, the arrival of Henry, who is presumed to be ahead of Park in the pecking order, has confirmed any doubts that fans may have had about the South Korean captain.
As exciting and nostalgic as the return of Thierry Henry may be, and for all the experience and aid he will bring to a team in need of a boost fans should be wary of not only what his signing may mean in terms of further January transfers but also in terms of how good our reserve strikers are. They should be in their physical peak, both being aged between 26-28, but both Park and Chamakh are deemed to be worse than a player in the final years of his career. And that is a worrying thought.
For more Arsenal news and articles follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
Written by Hamish Mackay for FootballFanCast.com
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