Desailly: Henry will stay at Arsenal

Former France captain Marcel Desailly has backed Thierry Henry to stay at Arsenal.

The 28-year-old Henry, who is in the final year of his contract, has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona, but has refused to make a decision on his future until after the Champions League final against the Spanish champions in Paris tomorrow.

However, Desailly believes the France striker will remain in England and go down in the annals of the club as one of their true greats.

“He will stay to lead Arsenal into the new stadium and finish his career at Arsenal like (Franco) Baresi and Paolo Maldini finished their careers at AC Milan. He will be the next legend of Arsenal like Tony Adams,” Desailly told BBC Sport.

Desailly enjoyed five years in Italy with AC Milan before moving to the Premiership in 1998, so he is well placed to analyse the differences between playing in England and on the Continent.

He added: “I don’t think he will move for money. There are plenty of good reasons to stay at Arsenal, but there are also advantages of discovering a new life by joining Barcelona.

“I think the lifestyle he has in England is exactly what he is looking for, and changing clubs would create a little bit of problems for him socially.

“The Spanish attitude is a little like the one in Italy, here your lifestyle becomes complicated if you are a huge soccer star, and this will be an element Thierry Henry won’t like.”