Perhaps Arsene Wenger could see the television in the corner of Pride Park's interrogation room showing Arsenal top of the pile at tea-time on Saturday. "Our record," he mused with a glint in his eye, "is maybe not as bad as some want it to be."
It was as close as Arsenal's manager came to gloating but it amounted to a timely riposte to critics, both internal and external, of the Wenger way.
In the aftermath of Athens there has been much accentuating of the negative - effectively how Thierry Henry described Wenger's tactics in European away games.
Whatever the manager said in private to the French striker - and his squad - appears to have smoothed immediate troubles. Henry was a delight to watch, making it difficult for Wenger not to dispense praise. But the manager's assessment amounted to a eulogy, even more extravagant given the striker's self-confessed madness after the final whistle in Athens.
"Thierry has done very well," said Wenger. "He's matured and has become more responsible. He looked so motivated and his desire was great. He's getting better and better."
Perhaps Wenger was also defending Henry against those critics who justifiably argued on Wednesday night that the player showed more passion after the final whistle than in the 90 preceding minutes. This highly-committed display, peaking after his team were reduced to 10 men, was a fine response.
Henry's two goals, admittedly including one from a harshly awarded penalty, provided another defence. The left wing continues to be his natural habitat. Yet he scores an awful lot - eight to date.
Other statistics are more troubling. Martin Keown was sent off after 57 minutes, after his second yellow card, to become the fourth Arsenal player dismissed this season.
It was the 10th dismissal of Keown's career and arguably the most inopportune, given that Tord Grip, Sven-Goran Eriksson's number two, was watching a player who is being touted for an England return next Saturday. Grip's report may not be too damning because Malcolm Christie exaggerated Keown's first offence, not retreating quickly enough at a free-kick, by running straight into the 35-year-old defender in order to make him retreat.
Christie's pace, which tempted Keown into the fateful challenge that earned the second caution, was virtually Derby's only offensive weapon, Fabrizio Ravanelli being easily held by the blanket of Matthew Upson, Keown and then Oleg Luzhny.
In coach Colin Todd's view the entire Derby team failed to take advantage of Keown's exit. To deepen the damage, he said: "Their penalty kicked us in the teeth."
Todd had a point about the incident only six minutes after Keown's departure. Even if Andy Oakes blundered in fumbling the ball, Nwankwo Kanu in turn lost possession before appearing to run into the goalkeeper. Henry dispatched the penalty, which was a slightly tainted reward for a left-wing counter-attack rippling through Robert Pires, Ashley Cole and, almost inevitably, Henry.
After this Arsenal showboated, their movement and accuracy mocking their disadvantage in personnel. Henry, having chipped in a 20-yard free-kick midway through the first half, now should have completed a hat-trick after being beautifully set up by Kanu. On this day, however, it scarcely mattered.
Man of the match: T Henry (Arsenal).
DERBY: Oakes; Jackson (Burton 66), Riggott, Higginbotham, Boertien, Murray (Kinkladze 45), Powell, O'Neil, Johnson, Christie, Ravanelli. Subs Not Used: Grant, Mawene, Valakari. Booked: Higginbotham, Oakes, O'Neil.
ARSENAL: Wright; Lauren, Keown, Upson, Cole, Ljungberg (Luzhny 60), Vieira, van Bronckhorst, Pires, Henry (Grimandi 78), Jeffers (Kanu 48). Subs Not Used: Wiltord, Taylor. Sent Off: Keown (58). Booked: Keown, Upson, Vieira. Goals: Henry 21, 63 pen.
Referee: R Styles (Waterlooville).
