Thierry Henry To Retain Captains Armband After Injury Confirms Wenger - Gunners Boss Says "Gilberto Will Not Stay Captain"

Arsenal will have to wait for their skipper Thierry Henry to make his return, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger assuring the French Striker that despite Gilberto deputising for him, the captain's armband will still be his on his comeback from injury.

The French international is suffering from a sciatic nerve problem, which is aggravating a leg injury, making him a certainty to miss Arsenal's Premiership clash with Chelsea on Sunday, but more importantly for The Gunners, looks sure to miss the busy Christmas schedule.

"As after the [France] match in Dublin last season, when I picked up an Achilles tendon injury, I am going to have to once again stop playing, maybe for even longer this time," Henry told l'Equipe.

"I've been suffering from [this new injury] for two or three months now, and the pain is amplified by the sciatic nerve.

"I need to say 'stop' for a month, or a month and a half, however much time is needed for the pain to go.

"At a given moment, after 60 matches in 2006, the body says 'stop'. And you need to listen to it.

"Yes, I'm annoyed because of that, because I can't help my team on the pitch. It's something I have difficulty in accepting.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has also dimissed reports that Thierry Henry's stand-in as Arsenal skipper, Gilberto, will continue as the Gunners captain after Henry returns from his lay-off.

"Gilberto will not stay captain when Thierry returns," said Wenger. "Thierry will be the captain. At the moment, Thierry gets a lot of stick that he does not deserve.

"What he has done for the club is tremendous and he will again do a lot of tremendous things for us. But Gilberto is deputising for him and he is doing well for the team. Gilberto is a quiet type.

“But he is a strong leader - much stronger than people expect him to be. He stands up. In fairness, he is not a penalty taker but the way he took them on Saturday takes something and that tells you a lot about his character."