Henry puts Trezeguet in shade

Trezeguet overshadowed
Henry, sold by Juventus to Arsenal for €16m in the summer of 1999 after just seven months (and three goals) in Serie A, gave one of his best displays of the season, scoring once in the London club's 3-1 success and completely overshadowing his Bianconeri counterpart and international striking colleague David Trezeguet.

Cause for confidence
The head-to-head of these two former AS Monaco team-mates at Highbury stadium brought together two players with plenty of cause for confidence - Henry had 18 goals already to his name this season, Trezeguet 17 - yet the Arsenal man outshone his good friend.

Buffon did not move
On 27 minutes - six minutes after Fredrik Ljungberg's opener for Arsenal - Henry struck with a magnificent free-kick, firing the ball over the wall and inside the right-hand post from a position 20 metres out and to the left of goal. Gianluigi Buffon, the world's most expensive goalkeeper, did not even move.

Delightful improvisation
Soon afterwards came a delightful piece of improvisation from Henry as he collected a long pass from Patrick Vieira on his chest and dropped a first-time volley on to the top of Buffon's net from a similar range to his goal.

In the mood
According to Alan Smith, the former Arsenal and England striker, that effort captured the present mood of Arsenal's French ace. "In terms of his all-round game he's just so full of confidence at the moment," he said. "He's trying things all the time - like when he caught it on his chest and tried to volley it over Buffon."

Converted winger
Last May Henry claimed Arsenal needed "a fox in the box" after missed chances had cost them dear in their FA Cup final defeat by Liverpool FC. Henry will never be a conventional No9 yet Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said recently that this converted winger could become the world's best front man if he were to improve his heading.

'A free spirit'
Smith says: "It's been a rapid learning curve for him it's so different playing in the middle to playing out wide. He doesn't play like a genuine striker and I don't think he ever will - he's such a free spirit, he likes to drift out wide. His finishing has improved a great deal and he rarely misses chances now."

Quick feet
Henry showed in the second half his capacity to create from the flanks. Twice in the latter stages his quick feet fooled a Juventus marker out on the right and subsequent passes infield to Patrick Vieira precipitated advances into the opposition area. Then his fearsome pace took him past Gianluca Pessotto on the right only for Lilian Thuram to clear his cross-shot close to the Juventus goal. On top of pace, he has a centre-forward's power: he knocked Thuram, another France colleague, to the ground before letting fly with one second-half effort.

Less happy night
For Trezeguet it was a less happy night. He headed over after Stuart Taylor had blocked a Pavel Nedved shot with the score goalless. On 51 minutes, however, his predatory instincts were responsible for Juventus's goal as he was in place to fire the ball goalwards after Taylor had denied Gianluca Zambrotta, the ball going in via Sol Campbell's boot and the goalkeeper's back.

Requires service
There were attempted combinations with Alessandro del Piero and Pavel Nedved yet it was largely a frustrating 90 minutes for Trezeguet, scorer of eight Champions League goals this season, against the Arsenal back line of Campbell and Matthew Upson. Wenger had said before the match: "He needs a team based around him and his style of play because he requires services."

Presence peripheral
Without that service at Highbury, his presence was peripheral. "I expected a bit more given his goal record and how well he has done there but on the night things rarely came off for him," says Smith. "But you have to give credit to the Arsenal defenders - I thought the two centre halves played really well."

French threat
If Henry and Trezeguet are a headache for opposing defenders in the Champions League, spare a thought for France's opponents in the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. In 1998 France won the World Cup without a regular goalscorer (neither player was then a regular though Henry still managed to finish the tournament as his country's top scorer with three goals).

Could be complementary
Now they have this pair - and Wenger believes they could prove "complementary" as a strike combination, citing Henry's "freedom" and "movement on and off the ball" and Trezeguet's preference for "service on the ground".

Looking ahead
From thoughts of what might have been for Juventus to the prospect of what lies ahead for France in Korea/Japan. Judging by Henry's performance last night, it will not just be the jet lag that keeps opposition defenders awake next summer.