Vieira confident Gunners will bounce back from Henry blow
Former Arsenal favourite Patrick Vieira insisted Tuesday that the Premiership giants will bounce back stronger from the big blow suffered by the loss of striker Thierry Henry.
The Inter Milan midfielder believes the atmosphere at the Emirates stadium will ensure the club copes with the departure to his France international teammate to FC Barcelona.
"Thierry Henry is a huge player and it is a big blow for the club to lose him, certainly," Vieira, who played with the Gunners from 1996 to 2005, told the website www.feelfootball.com.
"I know how it feels to leave Arsenal, and it is hard. But this has happened before at Arsenal, losing big players through the years, and the club always comes back.
"When I left Arsenal I know they had good quality players in midfield to come in - they had Cesc Fabregas to replace me.
"They have good quality players up front too, with (Robin) Van Persie, who has been injured but is really good, and (Emmanuel) Adebayor. They have the quality to do well, but it will not be easy."
Vieira was at Arsenal when the club suffered what was seen as an equally big blow - the retirement of Ian Wright. Henry arrived to fill the void and Vieira admits that anyone taking his position will have to make a similar impact.
"You have to remember, when Thierry came in he had to replace Ian Wright, which was not an easy thing to do! He achieved that and broke all the records, so the person who will take over from Thierry will be in the same position. They will need to do the same thing he did.
"It is important to know that nobody is bigger than the club itself and I hope Arsenal will keep progressing. The club can still progress and they are in a good position. They have a new stadium and all big clubs have a big stadium, so now they need to get the results to be at the very top."
Vieira believes that Henry will soon settle in at Barcelona and there should be no issues with him partnering Samuel Eto'o up front.
"There are no doubts, he will be very, very good at Barcelona. He is a quality player so I am sure he will fit in very well.
"People are talking about how he will play with Eto'o and I don't think there will be an issue. To have Henry, Eto'o, (Yaya) Toure, Ronaldinho and (Lionel) Messi in the same team is just fantastic."
Label: Vieira confident Gunners will bounce back from Henry blow
Liverpool football club manager Rafael Benitez (L) welcomes former Athletico Madrid footballer Fernando Torres to Anfield, in Liverpool, 04 July 2007. Liverpool captain Stephen Gerrard says the arrival of Torres is a sign that the Reds are at last ready to challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for Premiership honours.
Liverpool captain Stephen Gerrard says the arrival of Fernando Torres is a sign that the Reds are at last ready to challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for Premiership honours.
The Atletico Madrid striker agreed a six-year contract last week after a club-record 20 million pound move from Spain with manager Rafael Benitez hoping the 23-year-old will provide the weight of goals needed to challenge for the league title.
Liverpool have not won the championship since 1990 but Gerrard believes the arrival of Torres will have made rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal sit up and take notice.
"I'll bet players and fans from other clubs have been looking at us and thinking: Aye, aye, Liverpool are making a move for some of the big boys now'," said the England midfielder.
"Since I've been in the first team I can't remember us making such a major statement of intent in the transfer market as this.
"In recent years it's only really been Manchester United and Chelsea buying players around the 20m mark, so it's great to see us able to compete for players of that kind of value.
"The Liverpool board has always backed the manager and we've invested heavily over the years.
"Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier spent a lot of money, but we've all been looking to that extra step to close the gap and attract the kind of players United and Chelsea would be able to afford.
"This is the first summer in a long time we've been able to do that."
Gerrard is looking forward to playing alongside Torres but with the Reds linked with a number of other players, including Holland Under-21 and Ajax forward Ryan Babel, the Reds captain is optimistic ahead of the new season.
"Not only is Torres a great player now, potentially he's all the attributes to become firmly established as world class. He's at the right club and will be working with the right people to make that happen," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.
"I've never played against him, but I've watched him a lot. I really like him and I'm sure he will prove a great signing for us.
"He's a fast, strong centre forward who likes the ball being played into his feet.
"They are the kind of strikers I love playing with. I've no doubt we're going to get our money's worth out of him, with him being such a young player.
"Some of the other players we're being linked with excite me too. It's great to see us looking at young, hungry players with their best years ahead of them."
One of those players is the 20-year-old Babel. Liverpool are likely to return to Ajax with an improved offer after their reported 10million bid was rebuffed.
