Thierry Daniel Henry today completed his move to Barcelona after passing a medical examination this morning. Henry will wear the number 14 shirt as he did with Arsenal. There have been many reactions to ”Titi’s” decision, and perhaps the most interesting of these are the ones coming from Arsenal fans. While many are sorry to see him go and wish him all the best, others claim it was the best time for him to leave, and that Arsenal will be better off without him. There are also many questions regarding why Henry decided to leave now.

Last summer Henry turned down a move to Barcelona and signed a four year contract with the gunners, he claimed he would never play in Spain and looked set to finish his career at the Emirates Stadium. It seems that the resignation of David Dein and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Arsene Wenger were instrumental in Henry’s decision to leave.

So, will Henry be good for Barça? His signing will certainly make the battle for places more competitive. Despite the desire of many fans to see Messi, Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Henry all playing in the same team, it is more likely that Rijkaard plays only three of them. All four will know that they will have to be on top of their game if they are going to play, and Rijkaard will be able to rest players when he sees fit. There will also be less of a problem if one of the players gets injured. Henry, who scored 226 goals for Arsenal in 369 appearances for Arsenal, is the perfect player to put the pressure on Ronaldinho and Eto’o, he can play in any of the forward positions and should have no problems in adapting to Barça’s style of play.

On the negative side, apart from his inopportune comments after last year’s Champions League Final, I have to wonder how Henry will react to not being the top dog of the team. During his time at Arsenal he reached a Messianic level of popularity, and was sometimes accused of arrogance. How will he take it when it is his turn to sit on the bench? The same question could be asked for Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Messi. The spotlight will be on the player left out, and any signs of someone behaving as though they are more important than the club will be picked up on. I remember well when Barça signed Romario in the summer of 1993. Barça had three very established foreigners in Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov and Michael Laudrup. When Romario arrived it meant that only three of the four could play. At first there were no problems as Cruyff rotated the four, but problems arrived when Stoichkov complained after being left out. For the next game Stoichkov was back in and Koeman was substitute, Koeman’s reaction was to complain about Stoichkov complaining, with the phrase, “Él que no llora, no mama” which roughly translated means, “the baby who doesn’t cry gets no milk.” Stoichkov, of course, was not happy with this and the rift between the two players lasted a long time. By the end of the season it was Michael Laudrup who was being left out most, so in the summer he was happy to leave and sign for Real Madrid. I hope things work out differently this time.