Thierry Henry was one of Arsenal's most influential players for the duration of his career at the club, in every game he gave his all and was instrumental to the success Arsenal achieved throughout his time there. When he chose to leave for Barcelona, he had many reasons to do so but he felt the club "weren't moving in the direction that he wanted them to" and that was the deciding factor in his move.
Are his reasons for leaving Arsenal justified?
When Henry left Arsenal he had it all. He was part of the Invincibles team, he had won trophies and medals and broke various records, he became Arsenal's top scorer and he also earned his world class title with ease. He was an ambitious player who was at the peak of his career and wanted to see how far he could excel but unfortunately for Arsenal that ambition meant that he would always be looking for more success and they weren't able to give him that.
There were defining moments in his last seasons which could have easily convinced Henry to stay but think losing the Champions League final to Barcelona in 2006 was a factor in his decision to leave, even though he stayed for another year following the loss.
Arsenal were starting to go through a transitional period and Henry was too ambitious to be part of that change. Looking back on the last eight years he was right to move; the squad was starting to change, the Invincible players starting to retire or move to other clubs and they were replaced with players who didn't have the quality Arsenal needed to continue thriving. In Henry's last two seasons the team failed to win the league and that became a factor in his departure.
Taking into account the path that Arsenal took after Henry's departure wasn't and still isn't a successful period at the club. They haven't mounted a decent title challenge or won the league since and, for that reason, alone Henry's reasons to leave are justified. Arsenal sold all their best players and the football deteriorated. The ambition to win silverware was compromised in favour of finance and a new stadium, a player like Henry deserved to be part of a team that were dedicated to winning.
Success away from North London
When he joined Barcelona, Henry immediately settled and scored 19 goals in his first season and went on to win the treble in his second. He got to win the Champions League medal, something he would never have achieved at Arsenal as it hasn't been a successful competition for them. Barcelona fulfilled a dream for him before he eventually moved to the MLS and he was able to finish his career with an astonishing amount of medals and honours behind him.
Henry was a phenomenal player, he oozed class in every move he made, in every goal he scored and in every game he played. He was always of superior quality and grew to be a legend at Arsenal after becoming their top goalscorer and he still holds that achievement to this day. What a waste of talent it would have been if he had never had the chance to win the treble or the Champions League, or if been paired with Bendnter and told to get on with it.
Henry will always be regarded as a legend at Arsenal and every fan in the world understands fully why he had to leave and that is why he still gets the respect from everyone. He earned his move away from Arsenal because he done his very best for the club and they were able to respect his decision and it was the right one for him and his reasons are definitely justified.