Arsenal fans won't be brooding over their Champions League loss to Barcelona after all.

According to reports in the British media, Thierry Henry is ready to sign a four-year contract to stay on with the Gunners.

For a while now, there has been talk of the 28-year-old Henry joining Barcelona, but according to The Sun, it was the bonding between the fans and the footballers after the 2-1 Champions League defeat that convinced last year's English Football Writers Association's Player of the Year to stay on.

'I hope to stay for as long as I can keep running. I could not face leaving the fans. They are like my family,' the Sun quoted the French striker in an exclusive interview.

A formal announcement is expected on Friday.

That perhaps explains why David Dein, the Arsenal vice-chairman, was strangely upbeat even after the Paris defeat.

Henry had said he would announce his decision before the start of the World Cup on June 9. He joins the France World Cup squad next week.

Other reports said Henry's wife Nicole Merry's fondness for London also helped sway his decision.

And what Henry -- who joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999 and has scored 200 goals for the Gunners -- said after the defeat was definitely indicative of his frame of mind: 'People talk, maybe rightly so sometimes, about Barcelona being the best team in Europe, but I'm sorry. People can talk about magic, but I didn't see any magic last night.'

Image: Thierry Henry in action at the Champions League final at Stade de France, Paris on Wednesday.

Photograph: Lluis GeneAFP/Getty Images

Also see
Complete Coverage: UEFA Champions League