The future looks even better

Not only do Arsenal have Thierry Henry in their team, England8217;s champions will also have youth on their side in the years ahead. Henry ...

Not only do Arsenal have Thierry Henry in their team, England8217;s champions will also have youth on their side in the years ahead. Henry landed a second consecutive Professional Footballers Association PFA Player of the Year award on Sunday, just hours after the Frenchman helped seal Arsenal8217;s 13th championship in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

The award was a fitting tribute to a striker whose superb pace, dribbling skills and precision shooting have made him the living nightmare of defences across Europe.

Solo goals which start from the halfway line, free kicks from 25 metres which curl into the top corner and clinical finishes from close range are all part of Henry8217;s ever-expanding repertoire. On top of that, Henry makes it his job to create goals for his teammates. While many top strikers are finishers of other players8217;moves, Henry revels in using his electrifying pace and ability to scoot past defenders to tee up chances for others.

Arsenal are the Premier League8217;s top-scoring side not just because of the 29 goals struck by Henry himself, but also for the Frenchman8217;s hand in many of the other 40.

Better still for manager Arsene Wenger is the fact that Henry, at 26, is hardly in the latter stages of an already World Cup and European championship-winning career.

With Newcastle United8217;s Alan Shearer being the Premier League8217;s second top scorer at the ripe age of 33, Arsenal8217;s prospects look bright for several seasons to come. Skipper Patrick Vieira, 27, is entering his prime, 30-year-old winger Robert Pires has at least another couple of seasons in the top flight and two members of the Premier League8217;s tightest defence, Kolo Toure and Ashley Cole, are still only 23.

Add their 20-year-old Spanish signing Jose Antonio Reyes up front and some promising cameo roles this season from young reserves such Jeremie Aliadiere, David Bentley and Gael Clichy, and it is easy to understand Wenger8217;s optimism.

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Writing in his programme notes before Arsenal8217;s 5-0 demolition of Leeds United, in which Henry scored four times, Wenger said: 8216;8216;Remember that 90 per cent of this team are still young, and they have a great togetherness. I am optimistic that we can make the step up to the next level, because these players have great mental strengths.8217;8217;

That next level will clearly need to involve success in the Champions League, having bowed out at the quarterfinal stage against London rivals Chelsea. The disappointment will rankle for some time, particularly as the absence of any truly great clubs in the last four made it a rare opportunity to win the European Cup for the first time. Reuters