Henry Reports Are 'Pure Invention' - Dein
Henry's not for sale
01/22/2004. The notoriously inaccurate Spanish press have produced another tale of utter imagination fuelling this latest round of rumours surrounding Arsenal players and Spanish giants Real Madrid. In what can only be described as "Creative Licence", the current stories doing the rounds are riddled with speculation and simple inaccuracy.
Arsenal Vice-Chairman David Dein took a recent trip to Spain to talk about Seville striker Reyes, making an offer rumoured to be around ￡20m (30m euros). In a frenzy of hurried reporting, the national press in Spain misreported that the Dein was in fact meeting Real representatives regarding their French star Theirry Henry.
London newspaper The Evening Standard quoted the Gunners boss as saying "This is pure invention. The situation hasn't changed with regards to Thierry Henry and our attitude remains the same - hands off".
Even Dein could not bring himself to mention the ill facts littered in almost every article on the story. Reports stating that Real have offered 30m Euros and Striker Jose Antonio Reyes, long time target of manager Wenger, would have come as surprising news to Club Seville with whom the 20 year old footballer has just signed a new long term contract. Maybe the power of the Spanish team has stretched to selling player from other clubs too. The often unreliable Spanish media then claimed that Arsenal were due to play "Manchester United, Chelsea and Celta Vigo in the next three weeks". This news would have come as a shock to everyone at the North London club as none of those fixtures feature on the official match schedule in the next three weeks.
Further reports claiming that Henry was in fact taking a week off to "meet with Madrid officials" is equally as far fetched. With the league cup being an opportunity to play younger squad members in competitive games, Henry was allowed the luxury of a few days rest. The suggestion that manager Arsene Wenger would facilitate the departure of one of his key stars is almost inconceivable. Wenger has already laughed off a Chelsea bid rumoured to be worth ￡50million.
