Edelman expects Henry to stay
Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman has rubbished claims captain Thierry Henry is set to quit the Gunners next summer.
The 28-year-old Frenchman, who broke Ian Wright’s Arsenal goalscoring record of 185 goals in Prague last week, has less than two years left on his current deal.
Henry has remained tight-lipped over his Arsenal future, continually reiterating his desire to wait until the end of the season before opening contract talks with manager Arsene Wenger.
Edelman and the Highbury board look set to offer Henry a club-record £100,000 (€146,000) a week deal this summer to finally see off enquiries from the likes of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and Barclays Premiership champions Chelsea.
Edelman said: “Yes I think Thierry will be here next season and he’ll be running out at the new stadium, leading the team onto the field.
“All we’re saying is we would like Thierry to stay and we are working very hard to achieve our objectives.
“That is all I can say at the moment, the players are very much with us in the development and are very impressed with the stadium.”
Wenger will see none of the profits generated from the sale of 711 apartments at Highbury until 2010 – news Henry is unlikely to be happy with.
The Arsenal skipper has been frustrated this season by the club’s inability to sign a ready-made replacement for Patrick Vieira, who departed Highbury for Juventus in a £13.7m (€20m) deal in the summer.
Wenger’s only serious acquisition this season has been the capture of Belarus midfielder Alexander Hleb from Stuttgart, as the club continue to tighten their belt with a £357m (€524m) stadium move to Ashburton Grove just months away.
With the Gunners languishing 12 points behind champions Chelsea in the Premiership title race, Henry will be upset at the news Wenger won’t be splashing the cash in the January window.
“The money won’t be available to Arsene Wenger; it’s just a plan to make the club financially stronger for the future,” said Edelman.
“We expect to sell the 711 units within the next few months but the money won’t register for a few years.
“In cash terms and team building terms we’ll have to wait to see the profits and the money.”
