ARSENAL IN MELTDOWN
Last updated : 02 September 2005 By Editor
From the Mirror:
Arsene Wenger fears he is facing a major battle to stop Thierry Henry leaving Arsenal. Gunners captain Henry is believed to be disillusioned at Arsenal's lack of major signings this summer while their title rivals Chelsea have again invested heavily on improving their squad.
Arsenal boss Wenger, whose only major deal was signing Aleksandr Hleb for £8million, believes they will have to win a trophy to prevent the French striker leaving next summer.
Wenger sold Patrick Vieira to Juventus this summer and tried to sign Julio Baptista from Seville for £14m but missed out when Real Madrid moved in for the Brazilian.
It left Arsenal short of a big-name new signing and it has left Henry privately concerned that the club may be left behind by Chelsea and Manchester United.
Several Arsenal players were left extremely concerned that the transfer window shut without Wenger adding a major name to his Highbury squad.
Henry - on the brink of breaking Ian Wright's club goalscoring record - has always insisted he has no intention of leaving his beloved Gunners.
But recently he has been tempering his comments by insisting they must match his ambition for success.
Wenger said last week: "We are ready to negotiate a new long-term contract but I have the impression he is not. Thierry is my priority.
"He is the new captain, he is the one who must lead this club into the new stadium. I can't imagine him not being part of the project, but at the moment we have not sorted it."
