The Madness of Thierry Henry and Thaksin Shinawatra

This past week, the two names you can’t escape are Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and soon-to-be conqueror of Manchester City Thaksin Shinawatra. I’ve purposefully stayed away from writing about them. Why? If you’re like me, I’m a bit sick of hearing their names in the news so often, which is why I’ve waited until now to share my thoughts.

On Monday, Thierry Henry will be unveiled as Barcelona’s newest striker. I totally respect what Henry was done at Arsenal. As one of the most classiest players to ever have graced the English game, he is totally irreplaceable.

However, his departure from the Gunners is probably the best thing that could happen to the club right now. That is, if they can keep Wenger and replace him with two strikers.

Back to Henry for a minute. While the talisman has brought so much glory to Arsenal, his attitude off the pitch during the last 12 months has been detrimental to the club. He holds too much power and, to me, has been too vocal with his opinions telling the media what he believes is best for Arsenal.

I don’t think Arsenal fans or the club should be in a state of panic regarding Henry’s departure. With Stan Kroenke on the horizon, the club has an opportunity to receive enormous amounts of investment to buy the best talent available. While that day hasn’t come yet, let’s hope that Wenger stays in charge and steadies the ship. The Gunners fans will want a new signing quickly to distinguish the fire of outrage among many Arsenal fans devastated by Henry’s departure.

Thaksin Shinawatra, meanwhile, is a whole different kettle of fish. To me, the only two things worse than Man City’s last season are one, relegation and two, bankruptcy. With the former Thai prime minister in charge of City (if the Premier League deems him a fair and proper person), how much worse can it get? With his enormous amounts of cash, City can buy their way to comfortable safety next season. Without him, City’s forthcoming season could be in grave danger.