Ominous hat trick from Henry!

Thierry Henrys first hat-trick for the Gunners on Tuesday, against 3rd placed Leicester City, served as a timely reminder perhaps omen for Manchester United, and indeed the Highbury (un)faithful, that the title race is not yet done! Remember, it was a win on Boxing Day 1997 over The Foxes that started an 18 game unbeaten run for the Gunners; Crucial wins over Chelsea, Newcastle, Leeds and a most memorabe victory at Old Trafford, helped overhaul a 13 point deficit at that stage of the season. Incredibly, after playing 20 games so far this season Manchester United are in exactly the same position as they were in 1997 - top of the Premiership with 46 points from 14 wins, 4 draws and just 2 defeats. Its encouraging to know that this time were just 8 points adrift with a far better squad remember Christopher Wreh and Luis Boa Morte!

Unfortunately, and perhaps understandably, this did not bring much Christmas cheer to Highbury because the Anfield defeat seemed to be at the forefront of everyones minds, including the players. This state of mind was reflected in an initially nervous start and dire first half spectacle, which could have spiralled out of control, if it hadnt been for the timely return to form of Henrys marksmanship. Henrys thunderous volley just outside the penalty area, from Pires corner, was just reward for our efforts against a very negative and defensive Leicester side that, until now, had only conceded 5 goals away from home all season.

The 2nd half started far more brightly as Arsenal began to make better use of possession in the final third. Leicester didnt have an extra gear to compete and players like Jones and Savage looked as if they had eaten all the pies during the interval. It was just 5 minutes into the second half when goal number 2 came. Vieras tireless running found him in a one-on-one situation with Flowers 7 yards from goal. At such close quarters you would normally favour Flowers - the pick of the Leicester players - but Viera cleverly clipped the ball over his head and ushered it across the line. The onslaught was briefly halted as Akinbiyi pounced on another Manninger fumble. But this time the determination was there not to throw away the lead. Henry scored his second by taking a good pass from Dixon and rounding Matt Elliott easily just inside the penalty area. Elliott held onto his shirt and could have easily given a penalty away but Henrys shot was hard and low and there was no need for the excellent Dermott Gallagher to intervene. (Henry gave Elliott his shirt to keep at the end of the game as a memento!) An impressive full home debut from Stepanovs at centre back was almost rewarded with a headed goal, but was thwarted by the post. Freddie Ljungberg followed up on the rebound however to score with his first touch of the game and his first goal in the Premiership this season.

On 82 minutes Henry beat Leicesters offside trap (dubiously) to receive Vivas' pass. This time with just Flowers to beat he decided to run round him and score with his left from an acute angle. This brings his average up to just over a goal every two games. There is so much more to Henrys game though and he demonstrated this by turning provider in the 89th minute for Tony Adams to score his first goal for Arsenal in 2 years. It was a tremendous goal, particularly because Adams had headed the ball clear in his own area and then ran the full length of the pitch to slide onto Henrys cross. The sight of Adams scoring with a left-footed volley, in the six-yard box, is surely a sign that things have taken a turn for the better.

The post-match stats underlined our superiority: 26 attempts on goal and 14 corners compared to Leicesters 3 attempts and no corners. The day would have been complete if only Villa had held onto their clean sheet against MU. However they will drop points in the future, but we need to improve on our away form - 1 goal in the last four away games isnt the kind of run were looking for.

Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Stepanovs, Adams, Silvinho, Pires (Cole 85), Grimandi (Vivas 77), Parlour, Vieira, Henry and Kanu (Ljungberg 74)
Leicester: Flowers, Rowett, Impey, Taggart (Guppy 40), Elliott, Jones, Robbie Savage, Oakes (Benjamin 51), Sinclair, Akinbiyi and Izzet
Referee Dermott Gallagher