Captain Henry

[ShirazT]

Kevin McCarra of the Guardian wrote a blog piece about how Henry is not suited to be Arsenal's captain:

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2006/12/05/arsenal_must_let_someone_else.html

Essentially, McCarra's point of view is that a temperamental attacking genius is not what you need in a captain. He recommends that Gilberto keep the band when Henry returns from his extended X-mas holiday.

Personally, I agree. It's not to denigrate Henry's impact as a player, but quite the opposite - he seems burdened by the captain's role, and I think that is at least part of what has created a noticeable drop in form.

In the same way that Henry has had the self-realization that sometimes he needs to rest to perform, I hope his break gives him time to reflect on how his performances as a striker and a captain have affected the team, and results in him giving up the band permanently.

[Cannon]

Henry asking to return the armband is the only way he loses the role for the forseeable future...no matter how well or poorly he is suited for the position. Fine to talk/write about changing the captain but no way it happens.

[mpeabody]

Gilberto is the vice-captain so it only makes sense that he's retain it while Henry's injured. Personally, I feel that when Gilberto is captain he seems to perform better. However, I also agree that there's no way Henry is stripped.

[Skizz]

Let's just hope that one day Henry is big enough to admit that he's not suited to the role of captain, and he hands the armband over to the legend that is Kolo Toure.

[RealMadGunner]

If players like Gilberto or Toure can influence the team, why should they do it only if the arm-bands' around their arm ?! Can't they do it on a normal basis ? Or is it that the players don't listen to influential players if they are not the captian ?

[Skizz]

Well they will influence the team anyway, I think the captain's armband shows your team-mates that you are the epitome of what the manager desires from the team and it is a personal reward for hard work and constant motivation of team mates. Some people revel in being made captain and take their game to another level (a la Gilberto), but I just think some people it doesn't make a difference if they are captain or not. Henry will always be Henry, it doesn't make a difference to him if there's an armband on his bicep. Steven Gerrard took his game to another level because it meant so much to him to be made captain, boyhood club and all that, and now he's the team's driving force. He was influential before, but his teammates look to him for inspiration, for motivation. That's one of the reasons Henry isn't a good captain, he moans at other players too much (as opposed to motivating them). You do see him saying "good pass" and so on, it just seems like he moans a lot more.

In response, yes Toure and Gil can influence the team on a normal basis, they already do. It's also not a case of people not listening to anyone but the captain, if it was like that we would have serious issues. It's just that being captain is a pivotal role in the team, you take on a lot more responsibility among the squad, let alone the first XI. In a way you are the line of communication between players and management (look at the Steven Pressley case) and I think Henry and Wenger's relationship is reflected in the fact he made him captain. Maybe not after last weeks events tho...

[RealMadGunner]

^Agree with all the aspects .. What i was trying to say before was that almost everyone's blaming Henry's captiancy for Arsenal's bad form .. Which i thought was not the right thing to do .. Obviously, we know he's not captian material .. But we also know that with players such as Gil and Toure, it should not be that hard to motivate the team, atleast in their territories .. Obviously, the person with the arm-band commands most respect but there are others who are as influential, if not more, than Henry at the moment .. There's no way we can take the arm-band from Henry, unless we sell him or he decides to leave sometime .. So instead of moaning about the impossible [hopefully], the media should put it to rest .. This whole thing is really getting on my nerves lately .. About Henry being the wrong choice and that he's the reason for the slump etc etc ..

[Miles Brasher]

Wenger's come out and defended Henry as El Capitano, and stated that he'll be back as captain once he's fit

Thierry will be the captain. At the moment he gets a lot of stick that he does not deserve. What he has done for the Club is tremendous and he will again do a lot of tremendous things for us

Full piece on Arsenal.com

[Rewinder]

Stripping henry of the captaincy will make him leave the club, so we don't have a choice really.

[Skizz]

Well yes, stripping him will make him leave but that's why I said our only hope would be if he admits he doesn't really have it in him to lead the team at this moment in time. Also, he said he is at Arsenal "for life" so that would be a test of his resilience...

[RealMadGunner]

Dropping Thierry Henry is like dropping Jens Lehmann in 2004 (http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=436&cntnt01returnid=42)

In November 2004 Arsene Wenger dropped Jens Lehmann in circumstances which baffled many Arsenal fans.The team had only one win in their last ninePremiership and Champions League games, and had just lost 2-1 at Anfield to a wonder-goal by Neil Mellor, who has never been heard of since.

Alan Hansen blamed feeble performances by Vieira and Henry for the alarming decline, but Arsene Wenger dropped Jens Lehmann for 11 games, bringing in the dodgy Almunia.

Long-tern, it paid off, and Lehmann came back better than ever and had a blinder in the FA Cup Final against Manchester united, which Arsenal won on penalties without Henry.

The following season, 2005-2006, Lehmann was magnificent, the finest keeper in the Champions League, and he displaced Oliver Kahn for the World Cup.

Why was Lehmann dropped ? That was never fully explained. But it was rumoured that Lehmann wanted to join the national team for training during the Bundesliga winter break, a ridiculous suggestion.Whatever it was, it didn't look as if he was dropped for his performances. He was dropped because his attitude was not what the manager wanted. Later on, Vieira was sold for the same reason.
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Arsene Wenger sorted out a temperamental German keeper by dropping him for 11 games. That worked well and Lehmann has been excellent ever since he was dropped.

What happened in 2004 is similar to what is happening now. Two players were given a reality-check.Two players were disciplined, told that the world did not revolve round them. But with one difference : Lehmann didn't get a £20 million contract.