Thierry Henry is expected to be unveiled by Barcelona on Monday after the Catalan club agreed to sign the Arsenal forward for about £16.2 million, rising to a possible £20.2 million. The deal will come as no surprise to Arsenal fans – rumours of Henry’s defection have circulated for months – but they may be shocked by his potential replacement.

Reports in France suggest that Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, is lining up a bid for Nicolas Anelka, who left the club in acrimonious circumstances eight years ago to be replaced by Henry. Wenger is willing to pay Bolton Wanderers £10 million for the forward. Arsenal were keen to sign Samuel Eto’o, but the Barcelona forward is not part of the deal.

Henry is thought to have agreed a four-year tax-free contract worth about £4.2 million per season, nearly 25 per cent more than he earns now. Even if he has slipped from his best, the departure of the captain will be seen as a blow to a club who are still reeling from parting company with David Dein, the vice-chairman at the time, in April and are facing a turbulent takeover battle with Stan Kroenke, an American billionaire. The future of Wenger is also uncertain, although he will not leave before his contract ends next summer.

Arsenal stopped printing replica shirts with the forward’s name on the back last week. But the final decision to sell Henry appears to have been taken by Wenger on Thursday after a meeting between the pair. Wenger had already met Ferran Soriano, the Spanish club’s financial director, in Paris last week for discussions about a possible transfer.

Henry was close to joining Barcelona last summer, but changed his mind after the 2-1 defeat by the Catalan side in the Champions League final in Paris, signing a four-year contract. But he has since raised concerns about the direction the club are taking. Henry has questioned Arsenal not signing top players, relying instead on developing younger players.

Wenger has been annoyed by that criticism. The pair had a row in December and Henry is believed to have been dropped twice last season. His last appearance came as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven as Arsenal were eliminated in the Champions League first knockout stage in March.

Wenger has shown, with Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars, that he is willing to maximise his transfer income from players before their value begins to diminish. The value of Henry, who will turn 30 in August, can only drop.

Arsenal and Barcelona were putting the final touches to the deal in London last night. Barcelona will pay Arsenal a further £2.1 million if they win the Champions League. If the transfer fee is not paid in full this summer, Barcelona will incur a further £700,000 for each subsequent year that it remains unpaid.

Arsenal fans have bitter-sweet memories of Anelka, who has matured since being labelled “the incredible sulk” when he left for £23 million for Real Madrid.