Henry to miss Carling Cup final
Arsene Wenger has confirmed Thierry Henry will not play in the Carling Cup final.
Arsene Wenger has confirmed Thierry Henry will not play in the Carling Cup final against Chelsea next weekend.Arsenal have progressed to the final in Cardiff even though Wenger has used the competition to cast his eye over the club's youngsters and fringe players.
The likes of Denilson, Theo Walcott and Jeremie Aliadiere have helped The Gunners past such illustrious opponents as Liverpool and Tottenham, while senior players have been rested.
And Wenger has no intention of changing his policy in the final, so Henry will miss out at The Millennium Stadium and William Gallas will also be denied the opportunity to play against his former club.
"That competition is a bit special for me so I will keep it special to the end," said the Arsenal boss.
"Thierry will not be involved as it would not be fair to play the big players. They must have contributed at least one game.
"I will play the players who have made the whole campaign.
"Thierry knows from the start that he is not involved in this competition. I don't see a problem with that.
"I say today he won't play next Sunday, but if we have three injuries he will play. You can never say never in our job. But if everybody is available, he will not play."
Julio Baptista, Abou Diaby and Denilson were given the chance to impress away from the Carling Cup when they were selected for the FA Cup victory over Bolton in midweek, and Wenger insists the youngsters are now threatening to establish themselves as first-choice picks.
"The Carling Cup side has won the right to play in the FA Cup," he explained.
"If I had never played Denilson in the Carling Cup, I would never have played him at Bolton. The fact that he did so well in the Carling Cup won him the right to be involved in the Premiership, at Bolton and maybe in the Champions League.
"Some players grow through the Carling Cup and then play in other competitions."
