It’s anyone’s guess as to what, if anything, may happen on this day. With a 20-man squad arriving in New York City to face the Red Bulls, it’s entirely possible that there will be nothing at all to announce. Why distract from the prospect of Henry facing off against his former club, after all?
Then again, such a clash raises the expectations. Henry, perhaps more than any other player, embodies the successes and glories of Arsènian football: a Frenchmen, plucked from relative obscurity and converted from one position to another, to become a talisman and hero to Gooners on either side of the Pond.
At whatever level, we’ve seen a different, more-ambitious Arsenal of late. Whether this newer version has risen to a level that will satisfy is another question. All too often under Arsène, we’ve been asked to wait and wait again until a marquee-signing (if any) was announced. In this transfer-window, we’ve been treated to the signing of Alexis and Debuchy while being teased by the potential signings of Ospina, Khedira, Schneiderlin, Balotelli, and others. Heck, there’s even been talk of getting Casillas on a free transer, but let’s not go nuts.
We’ve been busy already, at least by our own standards, and there’s been business enough to suggest that we’re ambitious and looking to capitalize on many, many years of penny-pinching. With FFP at least threatening to consider forming a committee to study doing something, Chelsea and Man City have at last pretended to at least look at their books, if not balance them. Meanwhile, for the first time under Arsène, Arsenal are looking to break the bank, not just once for Alexis, but perhaps again for a true striker and a defensive midfielder. On top of that, we may still be in for a keeper and a center-back. Where does it end?
For what it’s worth, the trip to New York City may trump all of this talk. A chance to see Henry play against Arsenal may be just too much. Why try to add hype to hype? Instead, it might be best to just enjoy the meaningless friendly for what it is: a mindless jape for a few Academy players to ply their wares against a squad of once-were’s, never-will-be’s, and one, glorious, always-will-be.
Then again, with an eye to spectacle, could we see Henry, that one, glorious, always-will-be, greeting some kind of heir-apparent? I would hardly deign to suggest that Balotelli or Benzema could rise to the challenge. It’s enough, though, to make minds wander…
Jon
Nothing will happen tomorrow. Arsene has gone or come down from the mountain and has proclaimed that he has all that he needs, be it a striker or even a DM, CM or any other position.
He has channeled his in error Arsene and concluded that he has enough to win (4th or 5th). No matter, as long as he qualifies for the CL at the end of 2014-, he will proclaim the season a complete success.
Well said .we need world class striker to win leage or champion leage.
Don't be a moron, not even close to what Wenger said.
God help wenger
And what exactly do you base that postulate on? I don't seek to elevate expectations of my fellow Arsenal fans, but, after all, Arsene Wenger did say the following – and I quote from Arsenal.com:
on Arsenal's summer signings so far…
I'm very happy with what I could do until now. It's not over – there's still a long way to go.
on what other positions could be strengthened…
I can't give you any names because you are never sure that you can do what you want. We are still out there to strengthen our squad.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140719/wenger-on-a-workout-transfers-wilshere
I gotta agree with Linus. Today may not bring any actual news, but I don't think we're quite done yet. At a minimum, I see us bringing someone like Ospina (with Casillas a diversionary tidbit) and a DM, even if he's not at the level of Khedira. With more than a month to go, we may have to wait. After two Thursday signings in a row, three consecutive might be too much to ask…
Have you all hard that Sante Gazola is leaving Arsenal?, May be Doglas Coaste to replace him. Finger cross.
I also think that the Ospina deal is as close to being wrapped up as possible. I remember reading some comments on an arseblog article and one of the comments came from a guy who claimed to have been present at the Boreham Wood game and sitting close to Arsene and Gazidis. Apparently, Arsene should've told Gazidis to “close the deal” – which deal is anyone's guess.