Henry, Pires only training with Arsenal

Arsene Wenger did not entertain the idea of
bringing the players back to the Emirates
Stadium, insisting they are simply training with
his side to keep up their fitness.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirmed
that former stars Thierry Henry and Robert
Pires, who are both currently training with the
club, will not be considered for a return in a
playing capacity.
The two Frenchmen have been training at the
club's London Colney base over the past week,
leading to speculation that they could be re-
signed by Wenger on playing contracts.
However, the Arsenal boss clarified the
situation in his Monday press conference ahead
of Tuesday's visit of Marseille in the Champions
League.
Wenger said: “They like to come back to
Arsenal, to practice. When they can join in,
they do. They integrate well with the spirit of
the team. Nothing more than that. They have
no real target to bring something, they just
want to enjoy themselves and keep their
fitness. Usually they don’t practice with the
first team because they come in and work on
fitness.
“It is a little bit less competitive, [but] when
we have some room we invite them to play
with us, but usually they train separately to
us.”
Henry is fresh from a successful season with
the New York Red Bulls, who he helped win the
Supporters' Shield before they lost to the
Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference
semifinals, while the 40-year-old Pires has
been a free agent since departing Aston Villa in
May 2011.
Discussing a potential future role at the club
for Henry - who has already made one loan
return to Arsenal since leaving the club in
2007 - Wenger added: "No, at the moment he
is invited just to practice when he wants. We
have a big staff, a very competent one, and we
have the right number to support the team to
achieve the targets. Thierry is a player. One
day certainly it will be different, but at the
moment, no.”