50th Post : Some good things to look forward to

This is my 50th post. I decided that instead of writing it myself, I put up something that I am really looking forward to : An Arsenal revival. Gunners Rule!

Wenger : Henry is key to the future.
Arsene Wenger declared that Thierry Henry's decision to commit his future to Arsenal could prove a turning point in the club's fortunes as he vowed to build a team around his captain. The Gunners manager was speaking ahead of the north London outfit's League Cup semi-final first leg away to Wigan on Tuesday night.

Wenger has used young players and reserves in the tournament until now but with a 24-point deficit on Chelsea in the league, the League Cup has taken on added significance at Highbury.

The Frenchman admitted that "negative vibes" had surrounded Highbury since the start of the season following the departure of Patrick Vieira and the team's slump in Premiership fortunes.

However, he revealed his determination to start talks with Henry "the quicker, the better" as he looked to transform Arsenal's season after such a big psychological boost.

Henry's declaration that he intended to see out the end of his career at Arsenal - provided the club prove they can match his ambitions - was followed by a 2-1 win against Cardiff in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Wenger duly paid tribute to his exciting young players, such as Robin van Persie and Jose Antonio Reyes, who have shown their rich promise, but he still hailed Henry as the foundation stone for the club's future.

The Arsenal boss declared: "We have young players developing very well and maturing quickly into great players.

"But they need to be surrounded by players of top class with experience. In the next three or four years, Thierry is, of course, the person who can do that. Can we build a team around him? Yes.

"It's an exciting period for the club and a difficult one as well. There's a lot of potential in the side but you don't know how quickly they will explode.

"I believe we can be a surprising team in the second part of the season. There were a lot of negative vibes around the club from the start of the season because Patrick Vieira left and because we didn't do as well in the Premiership as we are used to.

"So it's important we turn that around. Thierry is, of course, part of that. But we believe we will turn it around and we are a club with huge ambition."

Arsenal's win against Cardiff was achieved without Henry, who was rested along with Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann and Cesc Fabregas, while Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue were unavailable on international duty.

The big guns should be back for the trip to the JJB stadium against the season's big surprise package.

Article is from ESPN-Star Sports web-site and can be found at http://www.espnstar.com/epl/epl_newsdetail_1660407.html