Is it time for Thierry to come home?

Past his peak? Probably. On his way out of Barcelona? Current events in Catalunia, and recent rumours in the Spanish press certainly suggest so.

Madrid sports paper; 'AS' today ran the story 'Henry is going' (albeit alongside a hopefully less likely 'van Persie could be coming' one).

The Henry exit talk is no doubt based on the back of Pep Guardiola's decision to replace Zlatan Imbrahimovich with Bojan Krkic, and not Henry in Wednesday's Champions League tie with Inter.

The decision to shun Henry once more, makes it fairly clear that the Frenchman now finds himself shuffled to the very back of the Barcelona forward pack, behind not only Ibra and Pedro, but Bojan too.

So with Thierry's Barca days looking numbered, could it finally be time for him to come home to the Arsenal?

A beyond his prime striker who'll soon turn 33 may not sound such an exciting prospect but then, come March next year, a certain Didier Drogba will also be turning 33 and the ork-like Ivorian has been immense this season, and painfully, none more so than when up against the Arsenal defences.

However Arsène Wenger has traditionally been wary of signing older players, not least those who have previously left the club. But Wenger did seem to scrap that particular rule book with Sol Cambell's signing in January so who's to say that the spirit and leadership that Sol's return has brought to the side won't have convinced him that such a move could be worth repeating with Henry.

What's more with Wenger moving into the last year of his contract, he himself has admitted that next year 'will be a decisive year for the team'. It's conceivable then that the priority might be for a player (or players) who can bring a winning mentality to this clearly gifted group, and quickly.

And if your looking for a winner then Henry surely fits the bill. International success, Premier League titles, FA cups, and just last season Henry won 6 (yes 6!) trophies, albeit in a reduced role to the one which Gooners are used to seeing him in, but an important one nonetheless. Theirry is a man prepared to do everything it takes to get the right result for his team; a fact that Ireland fans will surely vouch for.

However Wenger has suggested that Henry could return, not as a player, but as coach or even perhaps as a successor. When asked last year if he could see Henry returning to Arsenal at some stage he replied- "I can see that happening, the legacy here has to go to some people who have had a big influence at this Club. One day they will want to work, maybe not necessarily with me but working, because I will have to stop eventually. Maybe it will be me working with them!".

The question remains then, as to whether a playing role at Arsenal is still be conceivable, could he strip back the years, much as Sol has this year, and have one last spell of glory with the Gunners? I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

But with Andrei Arshavin's recent comments fresh in the mind, Arsenal fans might find the arrival of a player who clearly is -to use the Russian's phrase- "a patriot of the club' very refreshing indeed. The irony being that it would be Arshavin's left sided role that Henry would no doubt be competing for.

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