Arsenal, not Barça, may be winner in Henry transfer

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When a star player at the peak of his powers moves to one of the world's biggest clubs, it is generally assumed that the buying club got the better half of the deal. Ambition triumphs over loyalty. But with Thierry Henry's transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona, it looks like the English club has good reason to be smiling.

Henry cited the departure of influential vice-chairman David Dein from Arsenal earlier this year as the main factor that influenced his decision to leave. But it was far more complicated than that -- not least because Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger ultimately sanctioned the sale of his favorite son.

Barcelona paid $32 million for a player who turns 30 next month and who has been out injured since the end of 2006. How is that a good deal for Barcelona?

In contrast, Wenger got good money for a player whose ego was becoming a disruptive influence in the Arsenal dressing room -- witness Henry's protestations when dropped for last season's North London derby against Tottenham.

Wenger's judgment in the transfer has always been shrewd. Given Arsenal's finances, it has had to be. Why should it desert him now? Instead of questioning Wenger's decision, we should be asking questions of Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.

There are plenty of issues for Rijkaard to tackle. Last season, he struggled to keep a lid on dressing room tensions between Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. How will he handle the arrival of another major ego in the shape of Henry? How will Henry fit into a forward line that already contains three of the world's best players, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Lionel Messi? And how will Rijkaard cope with Henry's tendency to drift to the left, into the area normally occupied by Ronaldinho?

The parallels between Barcelona in '07 and Real Madrid in '03 make for uncomfortable reading for Barça fans.

Both clubs feel the burden of history. For Madrid, it is the pressure to live up to the team of the late 1950s, when Alfredo Di Stefano inspired five consecutive European Cup victories. For Barça, it is the challenge of emulating the style of the "dream team" of the early 1990s when, under coach Johan Cruyff, it won its first European Cup as well as four back-to-back Spanish league titles.

For both clubs, it is not enough to win; they must win with style. Yet it is that pressure to comply with club traditions that undermined Real Madrid during the Galáctico years of president Florentino Pérez.