Thierry Henry arrived at FC Barcelona on Sunday to be introduced as the Spanish club's new signing after it agreed to pay Arsenal $32 million for the 29-year-old France striker.

"Nothing has been signed yet but both sides reached an agreement on Friday," Henry told French sports newspaper L'Equipe on Saturday. "I have chosen Barcelona for the soccer they play, for their history and their stadium."

The fact that Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein resigned in April and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has not extended his contract with Arsenal past 2008 weighed heavily in Henry's decision to leave Arsenal for Barca a year after he signed a four-year deal with Arsenal.

"It's now or never for me -- sadly it has to be now'," Henry said an open letter in the English tabloid, the Sun. "Arsene Wenger has said that at this moment he will not commit to the club past the expiration of his current deal, which finishes at the end of this coming season. "I respect his decision and honesty, but I will be 31 at the end of next season and I cannot take the chance to be there without Arsene Wenger and David Dein. David Dein is no longer there and there is no denying the fact this has destabilized the team and the manager."

Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and scored 174 goals in 254 games for the London club.