So long Thierry, thanks for the memories!

Thierry Henry's reign at Arsenal Football Club has ended; and there are a lot of people out there who are very bitter with the manner of his exit from the club.

Why all the negativity? The timing of his exit was right for all parties. Thierry needed a new challenge and I feel Henry's best years at Arsenal were behind him. (I'll be honest, it's taken me a few days to come to that conclusion!!!)

Don't get me wrong - there's every chance that Henry will be outstanding at the Nou Camp. I just feel that he was going a little stale at Arsenal and would not have enjoyed adapting into a provider -in the manner Dennis Bergkamp did from about 2000 onwards.

The style of Arsenal's play -when they're at their best- requires one super-fit, lightning fast striker. I'm not sure if Thierry will be able to perform that role for a full season and I don't think that he would enjoy playing the role of a support act.

That's not a criticism of Thierry's personality - many of the greats of football have a desire to be the 'main man' in his team. That desire mixed with talent and intelligence is what makes them great. Bergkamp is the only player I can think of who successfully switched to a supporting role when he began to lose his edge.

At Barcelona, Eto'o will be able share the duties with Henry -so I don't think a season will take as much of a toll on Henry's body as it did in his final two seasons with Arsenal.

Whether that works from a team perspective for Barcelona -who also have to accommodate Ronaldinho and Messi... and Giuly- is anybody's guess. Anybody remember the Galacticos of Real Madrid?

So let's not taint the memory of having arguably greatest player of his time wear an Arsenal shirt for eight glorious years. I hope he does well at Barca. I also hope that the Catalonian club put on some great footballing entertainment with its glittering array of talent - as long as it's not at the expense of Arsenal.

Let's not forget however, that the future at Arsenal is very bright - and with two or three signings, the club will become a dominant force again. I certainly think the best is yet to come from Wenger's Arsenal:Mark III.