PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Thierry Henry
HAVING been arguably the player of the decade in the Premiership, Thierry Henry might not consider it a startling honour to be named player of the week in The Fantasy Game, but he has earned the award with his goals and gracefulness for Arsenal against Middlesbrough on Saturday. His hat-trick helped Arsène Wenger’s team to a 7-0 win but almost as memorable were the tricks he performed at the expense of youthful and hapless opponents.
Henry produced a spectacular volley for his first goal and completed his treble with two calm finishes, while two of his free kicks were headed into the net by Robert Pires (disallowed) and Gilberto Silva.
His jink past two players prompted Doriva to tug his jersey, leading to a dismissal for a second booking for the Middlesbrough midfield player, and the Frenchman also had time to display a bewildering manoeuvre in which he passed with his left foot while swinging his right boot.
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The claim that he is a flat-track bully is given some credence by the fact that he has scored 54 goals in 46 games at Highbury since Christmas 2003 while managing just 17 goals away from home in that time.
But his hat-trick lifted him to the top of the strikers in The Fantasy Game and his ten-point bonus as player of the week only cemented his position. He seems unlikely to relinquish it.