Ever since Nicolas Anelka stalked off to Real Madrid Arsenal's attack has badly missed his extraordinary pace while opposing defenders have breathed more easily. Yesterday, however, another Frenchman, Thierry Henry, at last showed signs of reproducing the Anelka effect without, it is to be hoped, the brotherly interference.
Henry scored both goals yesterday to keep Arsene Wenger's team on the heels of Leeds and Manchester United at the top. He did so, moreover, with something of Anelka's style and panache.
Since arriving from Juventus for Stg£11 million, Henry has continued to show a lack of consistency. Previous attempts to play him through the middle rather than on the wing had been unconvincing. Before yesterday he had scored only once in the league this season.
Yesterday, however, Henry won Arsenal the match after Dean Sturridge had given Derby an early and unexpected lead. Each goal was set up by Marc Overmars, and after the game Wenger admitted that the success of Henry in a central striker's role "will be very important for our season".
Arsenal's manager believed it would be largely a matter of confidence. "He had a period when he was a little bit down but now I want him to repeat the kind of performance he gave today and be more consistent. I know he can play equally well alongside Davor Suker, Nwankwo Kanu or Dennis Bergkamp."
Arsenal won comfortably enough but should have left less to chance. Having quickly established their superiority after falling behind to lead 2-1 soon after half-time, Arsenal dominated the game without putting the contest beyond Derby.
The match offered a sharp contrast in the resources available to Wenger and Derby's Jim Smith. Arsenal won despite Martin Keown, Patrick Vieira and Fredrik Ljungberg being suspended and David Seaman and Lee Dixon injured. Smith, with his limited amount of talent, should be so lucky.
As if to belabour the point Wenger spent the second half taking off most of the players who had caused Derby problems. Bergkamp's immaculate passing gave way to some uncharacteristically clumsy touches by Kanu, Suker replaced Henry, at which point the attack changed down a gear, and Overmars was substituted by Stefan Malz, who distinguished his first league appearance by hitting the bar.
To their credit Derby refused to be cowed by the ease with which Emmanuel Petit, Bergkamp and Overmars assumed an apparently unshakeable grip on the game. This manifested itself in Overmars plaguing the life out of Rory Delap.
The ease with which Overmars kept turning Derby on the left soon persuaded Highbury that the goal Sturridge scored in the second minute was merely an impertinence for which the opposition would soon be punished. Nevertheless the moment reminded Arsenal of how vulnerable they can be when Keown is not playing.
Avi Nimni, Derby's nimble Israeli, exploited a lapse by Tony Adams and Matthew Upson to find Deon Burton, whose pass gave Sturridge the opportunity to drive the ball past Alex Manninger. The quick combinations of Sturridge and Burton, supported first by Nimni and later by Georgi Kinkladze, on loan from Ajax until the end of the season, offered Derby a modicum of hope all afternoon.
That, however, was all it was. Derby's midfield never coped with the movement, vision and distribution of Petit which underwrote Arsenal's victory.
Twice, in the 11th and 51st minutes, the combination of Overmars and Henry found the Derby defence marking thin air. First Overmars shimmied away from Delap before sending Henry in to score with an assured shot from a narrow angle. Then he found the right weight of pass to release Henry for a second time, and again the finish was emphatic.
ARSENAL: Manninger, Luzhny, Adams, Upson, Winterburn, Parlour, Petit, Grimandi, Overmars (Malz 81), Henry (Suker 73), Bergkamp (Kanu 64). Subs Not Used: Lukic, Vernazza. Booked: Bergkamp, Grimandi, Suker. Goals: Henry 11, 51.
DERBY: Poom, Prior, Carbonari, Laursen, Delap, Johnson, Powell, Nimni (Kinkladze 60), Dorigo, Sturridge, Burton (Robinson 73). Subs Not Used: Hoult, Elliott, Murray. Booked: Delap, Dorigo, Johnson. Goals: Sturridge 2.
Referee: A D'urso (Billericay).
