Gunners can let Henry go

Three-time Premiership leading scorer Henry may be one of the world's premier strikers, capable of using speed and technique to create chances where none exist, but there are others capable of putting the ball in the net.

Arsène Wenger's persuasive recruitment skills can certainly do the trick.

After seven seasons with Arsenal, Henry has not grown beyond his traditional role:

Put bluntly, as captain, he is no Patrick Vieira.

No one expected it to be easy to replace his Juventus-bound compatriot as team leader, but when it mattered most this season against Chelsea and Manchester United, Henry played below standard and failed to inspire his team-mates.

When they lost to runaway Premiership leaders Chelsea 2-0 at home, Arsenal's players looked lost.

That would never have happened under Vieira's reign, especially at Highbury.

Henry can still win the Champions League with Arsenal after dominating an easy pool in the group phase. But that's on paper. Without Vieira, it simply will not happen.

So should Henry leave?

Not if he's happy to stay. The 28-year old still has several years at the top level in front of him. But Henry has made it clear, he wants a Champions League trophy.

"I reiterate that it is important that Arsenal has the same sporting ambitions as me," he recently told The Sun.

"The bosses are there to make the team competitive. At this moment, as you reminded me, we have not won the Champions League... There you go, that's the constant objective," he added.

His departure could even be a blessing in disguise. Wenger admitted as much in an interview this week with France Football:

""In a way yes we are (Henry-dependent), this is the bad side of players like him, who are always hungry for goals. The game of a team always depends on its strengths and if that strength becomes too dominant you become dependent on it," the French manager said.