by Marcelo Aparicio
BARCELONA, Spain, June 25, 2007 (AFP) - French striker Thierry Henry on Monday began life as a Barcelona star by vowing to land the Catalan club the silverware which eluded them last season.
"I am really pleased to be here with Barca," Henry told a packed news conference at the Nou Camp in the Catalan language, before modestly giving the credit for his new language skills to former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas.
"It has been a long chase but I'm finally here and happy to be here and I can't wait to go out there and show what I can do," Henry told reporters.
Asked about whether Barca's forward line can fit him in alongside close friend Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi, Henry, ever modest, said simply: "Hopefully, I can be a great asset for the team.
"I haven't set any targets or objectives. It has to be a club target. Barcelona is always a club that wants to win everything. I am going to try my hardest to help as much as I can."
Club chairman Joan Laporta was delighted with his 24 million euro (32 million dollars) capture on a four-year deal on a day the club revealed Henry's release clause had been put at 125 million euros.
"Thierry Henry is a player we've been after for years and now he's here," said Laporta, adding that the club had first tracked the Monaco man before he joined Arsenal following an unhappy brief spell with Juventus in the 1999-2000 season.
"Today, it is a great pleasure to see him here," said Laporta.
"He is one of the best players in the world."
Henry came closest to winning the Champions League - the medal missing from a collection which includes World and European glory with France and a slew of domestic honours with Arsenal - when the London side lost to Barca in the 2006 final, ironically in Paris.
Now he will chase the dream again in red and blue rather than red and white.
"It is a dream for everyone to win the Champions League and I'm sure it will be the dream of Barcelona to win it again next season," Henry said.
"It is the only thing I didn't win in eight seasons in London."
"The most important thing is that Barcelona is successful and they win silverware," he stressed.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said Henry left with his blessings.
"Thierry has been tremendous for us since he arrived in 1999. He has excelled both as part of a team and individually. In short, he has become an Arsenal legend," Wenger told Arsenal.com.
"Personally, I would like to thank Thierry for the huge contribution he has made to the club's success over the past eight years. To his great credit, he has mixed skill and style together with an appetite for winning.
"It was Thierry's decision to leave Arsenal but he goes with my blessing. On behalf of everyone at the club, we wish him the very best for the future."
Earlier Monday, Henry, who turns 30 in August, passed a medical and headed out for a taste of the Nou Camp atmosphere prior to his press conference.
Looking back to his relationship with Wenger, who nurtured him as a teenager at Monaco and turned him into one of the world's top talents, Henry said he hoped his former boss would commit to the Gunners beyond the end of this season.
Doubts over Wenger's intentions were a major reason why Henry decided to call it a day at the Emirates Stadium having almost succumbed to Barca's overtures a year ago.
Arsenal now face a battle to stay the course with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
"The relationship (with Wenger) was out of this world," said Henry, who added the pair talked about "private stuff, anything."
He added: "We didn't have a fight or anything in the room. We both respect each other. The relationship I have with Arsene will always remain, whatever happens" said Henry, before earning early credit with the local media by stating his happiness at his new surroundings in the local tongue.
The morning medical presented no problems, club doctor Ricard Pruna earlier stated.
"This morning he passed all the tests satisfactorily. There are no problems, everything is in order," Pruna told FCBarcelona.com.
On arrival from London Sunday night Henry told Barca TV: "Barca is more than a club. Everybody knows about Barca. The most important thing that has made me come is the way Barca plays, the fans and the support they give."
Henry had always said the Catalan club were the only side who could prise him from North London.
With Arsenal's all-time leading scorer on board, Barcelona will look to avenge last season's Liga loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid, which left the club empty-handed.