Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed he did not want star striker Thierry Henry to leave for Barcelona this summer.
The France international joined the Spanish giants last month following a successful eight-year spell with The Gunners.
Arsenal fans were disappointed to see their idol depart and Wenger has confirmed is was ultimately the French ace who decided to end his tenure in England.
Wenger believes Henry may have reached a point where he needs to win trophies and may not have been prepared to wait for Arsenal's youngsters to mature.
"Of course you don't want to lose a world-class player without having thought about it," he told the News of the World. "At the end of the day, it was his decision.
"He wanted to leave. You don't make a decision like that in a minute. You check to see if the player is really completely sure of what he wants to do.
"But Thierry Henry's decision is down to him. It's not my decision. He wanted to make the move.
"He's nearly 30. Maybe he didn't have the patience anymore to let the young team develop. You can understand that. It was a tough decision."
Meanwhile, Wenger believes Freddie Ljungberg will be an Arsenal player next season after failing to secure a summer move away from the Emirates.
The experienced Gunners boss is confident that following a failed Fiorentina switch Ljungberg will be with the North Londoners come August.
"At the moment Freddie stays," he continued. "I expect him to be here because he has not left yet and I'm 90 per cent sure he will be."
Source : www.skysports.com
By James Pearson - Created on 15 Jul 2007
