Henry vows to stay at Arsenal for life

Thierry Henry has pledged his future to Arsenal and insists he is ready to stick with the Gunners for life.

The French striker had been strongly linked with a summer move to Barcelona, but has instead vowed to stay with Arsenal, who move to their new Emirates Stadium next season.

There is no direct confirmation from Henry that he will sign an extension to his present deal, which expires in 2007.

But his stated desire to help Arsenal create a force to compete with the best in the Premiership and Europe is an indication his foreseeable future will be spent with the club.

The 28-year-old told The Sun: "The truth is I love this club and I've made my mind up to stay. I can say to all my fans and the people who care about me I want to lead the team out in the new stadium.

"There was a lot of ridiculous speculation. But the truth is this: I never spoke with or met with a single person from any other club at any time. This will put an end to all the stories and now we can move on. If I do commit myself for life, I hope the club and the board will - the same way as I do."

Henry admitted he was tempted to leave in the wake of compatriot Patrick Vieira's exit last summer but he was persuaded to stay by the Arsenal faithful.

He added: "Obviously I did think about leaving Arsenal, but when I see the fans and the way they talked to me, it helped make my decision. They waited for me to make my decision. They didn't boo me or make life difficult for me on the pitch."

Henry, 28, joined Arsenal from Juventus in August 1999 and has since broken Ian Wright's club goalscoring record.

Ironically it was Wright who predicted Henry would depart after seven years of service, saying "my gut feeling is Thierry is going to leave and if I was in the same position, I would".

But the former England striker looks to have spoken too early, and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had earlier claimed he was "confident" of keeping his star man.

Wenger has been considering a complaint to Fifa over reported comments by Barcelona president Joan Laporta at a fans' forum, targeting Henry as a potential signing.

Newspaper speculation also claimed Henry had been in regular touch with Barcelona - a claim hotly denied by Wenger as he defended the reputation of his captain.

"I know Thierry Henry well. He is straight and honest. He would never do that behind our back. When he is ready, a decision will be made," insisted Wenger.

"I would not rush him into a decision. He has to do it when he is ready. You want your players to be committed to it when they do it because they really believe it.

"Some players want to focus on their season. If Henry makes a decision [at this age], it means his entire life will be spent at Arsenal or somewhere else."