Chelsea fail in bid for Henry

Wenger happy at Arsenal

Arsenal have turned down a formal bid from Chelsea for striker Thierry Henry.

Billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made the offer at Highbury on Wednesday night, according to Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein.

"Henry is not for sale at any price - not to Real Madrid, not to Chelsea, not to any club," Dein told the Spanish sports newspaper As.

"Money is only good if you can buy another player as good as Thierry, but there is no-one in the world like him."

The offer was reported to be between £40-50m by British newspapers on Sunday.

The target is not to have a bank full of money but good players on the pitch Arsene Wenger

Dein added: "We know that Real Madrid are interested in our player and we know that Chelsea also want him because last week Roman Abramovich himself came to Highbury to present a formal offer for him.

"But we said the same thing we will say to Real Madrid if they present an offer, or to any other club for that matter, and that is that Henry is not for sale.

"He is the best. Henry is irreplaceable in every sense. If we sold him, we would weaken our team, strengthen the opposition and demoralise our manager, coaching staff and the rest of the team."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger echoed Dein's words when he told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme that he would reject any approach for Henry.

"When you have the money but not the players it does not help you a lot," said Wenger.

"The target is not to have a bank full of money but good players on the pitch.

"People will never understand if you sell your best players. That would be the wrong signal to send."

Roman Abramovic is keen to bring Henry to Stamford Bridge

Henry, who was recently nominated for Fifa World Player of the Year, signed a new four-year deal with the Gunners at the end of last season.

Abramovich has already financed Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri's £111m spending spree in a bid to bring the title to Stamford Bridge.

Players of the calibre of Hernan Crespo, Juan Sebastian Veron, Adrian Mutu and Damien Duff have already made an impact at the club.

Earlier in the week, the agent of Juventus' Pavel Nedved revealed that Chelsea are tracking the Czech international midfielder.

Reports also suggest that Roma captain and Italy international Francesco Totti could be set for a move to London.