When Thierry Henry arrived at Arsenal, he was just another one of a significant number of new players of whom, I think it is fair to say, most of us had never heard.

Unlike Bergkamp and Platt a couple of seasons before, Henry was not a household name when he arrived. Monaco, where Henry had had particular success, was hardly on most fans’ radar in the late 20th century, and as for Henry’s time at Juventus (three goals in 16 league games) the least said the better.

This lack of recognition of course was the same with Patrick Vieira – I doubt that any of us knew anything about him when he turned up. But there was a difference: Vieira made an impact from his very first match when he came on as a sub, taking control of the centre of midfield.

Henry on the other hand struggled. Lining up in the number 9 role he seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on the wing, and when he did head for goal his shooting was wayward to say the least.

But of course, the boy came good, as pundits love to say, and the records fell year on year, ending with Henry becoming the club’s top scorer.

Which makes the question about finding another Henry a bit unfair. Cliff Bastin scored 150 goals in 350 Arsenal league games, (178 in total) creating a club record which was not overtaken until Ian Wright came to the club and broke the record in 1997. In 2005 Henry overtook both players records – and he kept scoring for Arsenal for another two years.

Henry’s 174 goals in 254 league games is the statistic we ought to use because it allows us to compare like for like with Cliff Bastin, and shows what an absolute master of goalscoring technique Henry was. Ian Wright’s 128 goals in 221 league games shows a magnificent achievement, but still some way behind Henry.

Comparing league games and goals thus shows us not that Henry was the top goal scorer, but that he was unique, and the figures when compared in this way suggest that ever finding another player like him is going to be incredibly hard if not impossible.

But there is more to it than that, because for all except the first and last year of his time at Arsenal, Henry had a bonus in the shape of Robert Pires.

It took Pires a year or so to get used to the way he should play at Arsenal with Henry, but once he did, as a pair, these guys were unplayable. Time and again we would see Henry head out to the left side of the field and take two defenders, sometimes even three with him, responding, one presumes, to the naive tactical instructions of coaches who really didn’t have a clue what to do about Henry and so thought it might be clever to mark him out of the game.

In response Robert Pires would move centre field, where he would be unmarked. Henry would, on occasion, magically get past the two defenders and pass to an Pires standing in splendid isolation, who would either take a shot himself, or else pass back to the forward running Henry.

Of course over time, as tacticians from other teams watched, so their defensive tactics changed. It made life harder for Pires, who was then more solidly marked, but easier for Henry. His scoring rate continued to grow.

All of which reminds us that it is not just a case of “finding another Henry” but also finding the player who can play alongside him.

Now if I start comparing Henry to Giroud I suspect the more violently inclined members of the reading public will be likely to throw the computer screen to the floor. And the encouragement of physical abuse of inanimate objects is not part of my brief.

But I do want to consider Giroud plus Ozil as a pairing. The two playing together are nothing like Henry and Pires, but they are a pair of players who can work together very well indeed. Ozil distracts, players swarm around him, someone lines up for the push in the back which they know refs will by and large ignore, and the overall effect is that all eyes are taken off Giroud.

It has taken a little while but Giroud and Ozil are finding ways to vary their positions, to move laterally, and – and this I think is interesting – for Giroud to take passes on… the left wing.
Giroud arrived as a number 9, scoring from crosses, the man in the box, nothing like Robin van Persie, for example, but from there he developed ultimately into a man who knows how to play with Ozil.
So whereas Henry was brought in and told to play his established game, and then given Pires who would work around him, Giroud came to Arsenal after a very exciting season winning the league in France, and has gradually been changed to fit in with Ozil.
It suits Ozil, working behind a striker like Giroud, and it suits Giroud, to receive from a player like Ozil.
And there’s another point, because both Giroud and Ozil love to drift out wide, that has given Ramsey a chance to have his fun in the centre – which is where he is a much more effective player.
So if I am asked about why Henry has not been replaced at Arsenal I tend to say, “because he is a once in a lifetime player, just as Cliff Bastin was.” But then, if given the chance to go further I would argue, “it’s not always the player. It is often the player and guy he works with.
This is not a case of asking why Arsenal have gone through such players as Adebayor, RVP, Chamakh, Theo Walcott, and all the rest. It is a case of finding not just a superb goalscorer, but also the players to play with him.

No, there won’t be another Henry, but I rather think we might have another duo of whom we shall be singing praises for several years to come.