There are a number of possibilities in the search for
strikers, with compelling reports in France suggesting Anelka will
return as the Gunners' No9 in an £11m move from Bolton, who would
be expected in turn to enlist Djibril Cissé for £7m from
Liverpool.
With Henry's £6m-a-year salary no longer burdening Wenger's budget,
£2m raised from Jérémie Aliadière's move to Middlesbrough and £8m
to be generated by the expected sale of José Antonio Reyes to one
of three interested clubs in Spain, the Arsenal manager has the
means to recruit two strikers and a left midfielder. In the latter
position the Ajax and Holland international Ryan Babel's name has
been raised along with that of Lyon's France international Florent
Malouda.
Nicklas Bendtner will replace Aliadière in a reserve-team and
Carling Cup role after a loan spell at Birmingham City but, even if
Arsenal land Anelka after the striker's return from honeymoon,
there will be another vacancy up front. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar,
another young Ajax forward, Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen have
been linked with Arsenal.
The Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva will inherit the captain's
armband from Henry and there may be a few private sighs of relief
in the Arsenal dressing room that the Frenchman has left. Some
within the club felt Henry had become a destabilising figure in the
self-regarding final months of his eight-year stay and the team
might find his departure liberating.
Many perceive Henry's complaints about the departure of Dein as an
excuse that does not bear scrutiny. The former vice-chairman has
not been seen at the Emirates Stadium since departing the club in
April after a boardroom wrangle but it is thought a route back will
open up for him before the end of next season.
That would be possible if the billionaire American Stan Kroenke
steps up his purchase plans, which is expected once
capital-gains-tax liability of the largest single shareholder,
Danny Fiszman, is reduced. Fiszman is shifting his assets to
Switzerland and would make at least £100m from the sale of his
24.11% holding in the club to Kroenke.
Despite the so-called "lock-down agreement" limiting share sales,
insiders suggest this will happen in the next 12 months, with
Dein's return then a real possibility. The club Grimandi is joining
are not as unstable as Henry made out.
