Is Thierry Henry really Arsenal's greatest ever player?

'That' run which ended in a goal against T*ttenh*m at Highbury, the mesmeric strikes against Inter Milan and Real Madrid, a rare header in the dying seconds to beat Manchester United at Emirates...we all have our favourite Thierry Henry moment.

I've only been watching Arsenal for 30 years, so there is a plethora of players I never got to see in their pomp, but for me, Thierry Henry was something special. I never thought Patrick Vieira's influence would be surpassed, but Henry managed to score goals where others wouldn't even think of trying to shoot and it's fair to say that at times, he carried the team.

So I'm not exactly surprised that Titi has won the Greatest Player accolade on the Arsenal website.

When a player leaves Arsenal though, however much I may revere and respect their efforts, a bond is broken. It's like being told you partner is sleeping with someone else when you're supposedly happily married - things can never quite be the same again.

Imagine if Henry plays against us for Barca next season...there may be some wistful moments and an appreciative applause from us Gooners, but when the whistle blows, it is us against him and I want him to fail.

As a kid, I remember watching a young Dutch kid, who had more skill than I'd ever seen before, and I daydreamed about Arsenal signing him. No wonder he went to one of the Serie A giants when the Italian game was the best in the world.

The day when Dennis Bergkamp signed for Arsenal, I was driving, and I had to pull over due to shock. Arsenal simply didn't sign players of his calibre, and certainly not foreign internationals still at the peak of their game from clubs like Inter Milan.

Bergkamp was a watershed for Arsenal, a watershed for English football. He was the first 'big name' player to arrive at these shores not wanting to simply pick up the money and enjoy one last hoorah before retiring. He came to win.

Six trophies later and after endless moments of sublime football, what more fitting way to open the new Arsenal stadium than with a testimonial for the Ice Man - a player who, once he joined us, never left.

Forgive me for quoting the Arsenal website, but I think they sum it up better than I can: 'Some players elicit admiration, some provide inspiration, and a precious few can do both. Bergkamp was one such individual. His cast-iron technique was forged on the youth team training ground at Ajax and his steely character developed at Inter. But his best years will always belong to Arsenal.'

Has there been a more talented Arsenal player? I don't think so.

Did you ever win us a game, Alex?

So Alex Hleb is completing his move to Barcelona today, and one of the two protracted transfers that us Gooners have grown used to in the summer months has come to an end.

I always wanted our mercurial Belarussian to do well for the club, and the trickery in his feet was something for us all to behold.

His abililty to carve out an opening, to try a pass that few others would dare, made him a player of unique vision. Can you imagine ever having to mark him? No, I wouldn't have liked it much either.

Having defended him to the hilt despite the frustration he provoked, I was relieved at the start of the last season when he began to shoot more often, adding firepower to his armoury.

But it was a false dawn. Alex Hleb continued to flatter to decieive and I struggle to recall when he won us a game on his own in the manner of Bobby Pires, Freddie Ljungberg or Marc Overmars.

His suspension at the end of the season underlined the fact that all was not right with him - a mild mannered guy like Hleb isn't the sort to start headbutting people, is he?

Whether it was the fear of failing to win trophies at a club who constantly seem to be in transition, only Hleb knows. Surely moving to Barcelona is going to be anything but calm and sedate, blowing away his suggestions that London was just too hectic for him.

It's not going to take much, when you think about it, for Samir Nasri to take us forward in a way Hleb failed to do so often during is three years at Arsenal - and it says much that when I looked for a clip of him online to include on this article, none featured enough highlights to promt pangs of regret.

So farewell Alex, good luck in Catalonia. You did your best, but I don't think it was ever quite good enough for The Arsenal. 

Carlos can be Arsenal's saviour

I'm not one for Fantasy Football, but when people speak of it, I tend to suggest to them that they should put Carlos Vela in their squad next season.

The Mexican winger arrived at Arsenal some years ago before moving to Spain to qualify for his European passport - and boy, has he impressed?

Anyone who saw Osasuna's match against Real Madrid last season will know exactly what I mean, when Vela stood out as an attacking force, giving the recently-crowned European Champion Sergio Ramo a torrid evening. This was a kid with limited experience taking on one of the best teams in the world - and he was prepared to work hard to win the ball as well as show what he could do when he had it.

Only 19 years old, it would be unfair to say that Vela can be our Cristiano Ronaldo in his first season - didn't some of us think the same of Theo Walcott when he arrived?

But after two years playing regular first team football, I think Vela will prove to be one of the most important players at the club for years to come - and it's not often I make predictions like that.

The fact that the Mexican international has been itching to show the Premier League what he can do further excites me: unlike others who think they have a divine right to be successful, he gives the impression that he i desperate to work and impress in equal quantities.

“I’ve been waiting two years for a work permit. Now my dream has come true. I have to take advantage of this opportunity to stay in England. I hope I’m lucky enough to be at Arsenal for a long time," said Vela.

“I’ve achieved a lot in Spain. It has been a useful experience to play for several different teams and move around. At Osasuna I had a difficult experience because of the relegation battle but I always had a place in the team.

"I played well all season. But I expect to have a much better season next year. I’m sure all my efforts will pay off. I’ll be playing in one of the best teams in the world that plays competitions like the Champions League - I want those games as soon as possible.

"My stay in Spain helped me to make the jump to the Premier League," Vela told Mexican news agency Notimex. "Now, I am stronger on the field and more mature.

"I am not scared of the Premier League - I will train hard and fight for a chance in the Arsenal squad. I want to be a warrior for the team. I'm not thinking about failure. I'm happy to be here and I just want to help the team. I feel ready for Arsenal."