Former Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman has shed light on why the club allowed Thierry Henry to join Barcelona back in 2007. Despite Henry having been a prolific goal scorer for Arsenal, netting more than 30 goals in five out of six seasons and bearing the captain's armband, his move came after an injury-ridden season.
While Henry went on to find success at Barcelona, scoring 49 times and clinching two LaLiga crowns alongside a Champions League title, Edelman has now opened up about the Gunners' thought process at the time. Speaking to The Sun, he revealed that concerns over Henry's dwindling pace influenced their judgement.
"The reason Thierry moved on was because he was losing his speed. His game was basically all about speed," he said.
"And if you lose your speed, then you're dead. So, we got money for him despite the fact that he was on the downward trap.
"It's like Kevin De Bruyne. Would you have been better to sell him for more money at the end of last year? Or keep him and risk that he'd keep going this season?"
Arsenal's struggles following Henry's exit are well-documented, with a major trophy eluding them until the FA Cup victory in 2014. "Building a team goes in waves," Edelman explained.
"If you've got endless amounts of money, as Manchester City had, you could keep a team going longer. I'd argue there's probably only 20 world-class players in the whole Premier League, which is a very small number.
"Therefore, replacing world-class players is very difficult. And therefore, if you win things, you have a lot of world-class players because that's how you win things.
"But when they get older, it's very difficult to replace them. You've got to look at how many world-class players you've got in your team, and they won't be world-class forever, they get older and tend to dip.
"This is what I mean about looking at things strategically. You've got to ask the right questions. You've got to be probing. I don't think a lot of people do that.
"Arsenal were, in the Invincible years, were really lucky because, they had Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell and Gilberto Silva, there's five world-class players."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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