Reyes happy to step aside for Henry
Jose Antonio Reyes has relished the opportunity to fill in for Thierry Henry as Arsenal’s main forward but he is ready to make way for his captain once the striker returns to full fitness.
Henry picked up a groin injury during France’s World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in early September and has not featured for either club or country since.
Indeed, the 29-year-old himself is reluctant to talk up his chances of a return to first-team action, which had initially been pencilled in for Saturday’s Barclays Premiership trip to West Brom but now seems likely to be put back once again.
In the absence of his leading goalscorer and talisman, manager Arsene Wenger has deployed a number of attacking options, which have included Reyes as a loan front man supported by a link man and pressing midfielders.
Despite his extended run in the team, the 22-year-old Spaniard has, however, managed just one goal – in the away defeat to Middlesbrough.
Reyes has, though, grown into his new role, and made plenty of running in both the Champions League win in Amsterdam last month as well as against Birmingham at Highbury when he was denied time and again by the heroics of Blues goalkeeper Maik Taylor.
And the striker reflected: “This season, I’m very happy, I’m playing in every game and I’ve got the confidence of the manager behind me.
“I’ve been given that chance and I don’t want to miss out, I’ll do the best I can.
“It’s true that with Thierry out I get more opportunities to play up front and I like that position – but even if I am moved back to the wing when Thierry returns I don’t mind, as long as I’m playing.”
Reyes added in the Arsenal programme: “It’s a pleasure to play with team-mates who have the technical ability to pass the ball like we can.”
With the Gunners trailing runaway Premiership leaders Chelsea by 11 points, Wenger certainly has been left with plenty to contemplate during the international break.
The Frenchman will hope he has better news on the injury front when his globe-trotting players report back than he received from the England camp last week, when first Ashley Cole and then Sol Campbell returned to north London for treatment.
Full-back Cole is facing around six weeks out because of a stress fracture of his foot, although it is hoped centre-half Campbell – just back from a long injury lay-off – could recover from his hamstring problem by the end of the month.
Off the pitch Arsenal this week released their annual report for 2004/2005, which detailed a discretionary bonus to managing director Keith Edelman of £400,000 (€582,000), in part for his key role in helping secure lucrative corporate deals related to the move to the club’s new Emirates Stadium next year, taking his overall package up to £927,000 (€1.35m).
A bonus of £198,000 (€288,000) was also paid to director Ken Friar, who played a leading role in construction and planning issues surrounding the new stadium.
In his chairman’s report, chairman Peter Hill-Wood said: “During the year, the project team, led from within the club by Danny Fiszman, Keith Edelman and Ken Friar, has continued to drive the project forward.
“It has been extremely exciting to witness the rapid progress of the construction of Emirates Stadium and speaking on behalf of the entire board of directors and everyone associated with the club, we are all looking forward to this new chapter in the history of Arsenal.”
