Martins puts Henry in shade

Thierry Henry was spectacularly upstaged on Wednesday night by a man who as recently as ten months ago had not even donned an Internazionale FC first-team shirt.

Strength and determination
Nigerian Obafemi Martins had to wait until a Coppa Italia match at AS Bari last December for his Inter debut but the 19-year-old stole the limelight at Highbury with a magnificent first-half display. He produced a deft header to set strike partner Julio Cruz up for a 22nd-minute opener before showing great strength and determination to add his side's third just before half-time as Inter ripped Arsenal FC apart to claim three points with a 3-0 win from their UEFA Champions League Group B opener.

Gilt-edged chance
For so long forced to play second fiddle to the likes of Christian Vieri and Hernán Crespo at the San Siro, Martins seized his chance here. Henry was the more prominent of the two at the outset as Arsenal began the game with intent but the 1998 FIFA World Cup winner faded along with his side and then missed a gilt-edged chance to haul his side back into the game from the penalty spot.

A merry dance
Fredrik Ljungberg went to ground under a challenge from Marco Materazzi towards the end of the first half but Henry's spot-kick was palmed aside by Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo. "I don't know any player in the world who never missed a penalty," said Henry. "I can't hide. I will take the next one, of course I will."

Shows the way
Had Henry scored Arsenal would have been right back in the game at 2-1 down but instead it was left to Martins to show the way to goal four minutes before half-time. Inter's Turkish international Emre Belözoglu led the Arsenal midfield a merry dance before sliding a pass through to Martins just inside the box.

Tremendous strength
Picking the ball up with his back to goal, the youngster displayed tremendous strength to ride a sliding challenge from Sol Campbell before planting a left-foot shot past Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. The goal, just reward for a first-half display where his pace and directness were a constant danger to the Arsenal defence, was the cue for exuberant somersault celebrations from Martins.

Damage done
With the damage done, Martins was not in the game as much in the second half as Inter looked to consolidate their lead. It was a different story for Henry as he sought to make amends for his earlier penalty miss. Boosted by the arrivals of fellow forwards Dennis Bergkamp and Nwankwo Kanu, both former Inter players, Henry had another superb chance to bring Arsenal back into the game after 67 minutes.

Henry efforts
Picking up a long ball forward the Frenchman had little trouble in beating his marker, but he was unable to produce a finish to match, firing a weak shot straight at Toldo. One of Arsenal's few guiding lights on the night, the former Juventus FC and AS Monaco FC striker tested Toldo once more ten minutes from time with a left-footed effort that the Inter custodian was forced to tip over.

Last chance
That proved to be the last chance Henry would have and Martins could have capped a superb night for both himself and the Italians had he shown a little more composure after reacting quickest when Mohamed Kallon's shot came back off the post, the African's snapshot ending up in the crowd.