Matt Holland: King Henry reigns in European domain of goalscorers

If ever the adjudicators needed nudging towards the soon-to-be-announced European Footballer of the Year, Thierry Henry did it on Wednesday night against Roma with both feet – and very forcibly. Top-class strikers earn their corn by scoring goals in the crucial games, and the first match in the second stage of the Champions' League is undoubtedly a crucial game.

Henry's first strike was the act of one of the best players around, his second put daylight between him and a lot of other big names, and his third, the hat-trick goal, left him as the outstanding striker of the moment. Moreover, his current form, which has left bad defences looking pathetic and good ones looking bad, has been a feature of Arsenal's dominance during the past 12 months.

What makes him so good? Well, he is a phenomenally quick and balanced runner whether chasing passes, finding gaps or with the ball at his feet. Defenders back off from him fearful of his pace, which only encourages him to run at them or allows him more space to operate between the defensive midfielders and the defenders. As if he needed more weaponry to give full-backs nightmares, he can shoot and score with either foot. Think how often he attacks down the left flank, teases the defender before leaving him unbalanced and beaten by jinking inside and then unleashing a violent, searing shot.

Incidentally, Freddie Ljungberg does the same in the same team. Who would be a right-back? They must need counselling after playing Arsenal – and I have not mentioned Robert Pires. But Henry does his damage on both flanks, and bursts through the middle for the exquisitely weighted passes from Dennis Bergkamp. Simply, he is a threat from the half-way line onwards.

Henry was not the only player from an English club to score vital goals in the Champions' League. Ruud van Nistelrooy struck twice within a couple of minutes to deflate Basle. Van Nistelrooy is different to Henry. I don't think he is as quick and he tends to play off the last defender a lot more. His touch is excellent, as it needs to be with his back to goal with big, strong centre-halves trying to muscle him off the ball, and he is a consummate goalscorer. Flashy goals, tap-ins, extraordinary individual ones or headers after a patient and structured build-up. He scores them all and absolutely loves it.

I remember reading a comment from the Dutchman or one of his team-mates at Old Trafford that he is depressed in the dressing room after a match if he has not scored, regardless of the result. That is the desire and single-mindedness that a team want from their front-man. The theory is if he scores and scores frequently, it is up to the rest to ensure the game is won by conceding fewer.

While United and Arsenal won, Newcastle did not, and with Craig Bellamy and Alan Shearer absent through suspension for a spell, I find it difficult to see them progressing.

The old master and young tyro are an interesting comparison and foil for each other. Shearer is the classical English centre-forward. The pace may have diminished with age, but he shields and protects the ball, gives the attacking midfielders time to catch up with the play and generally makes himself a most awkward, aggressive man to defend against.

Of course it helps that he is strong. Bellamy is much more will-o'-the-wisp. Small, swift, cocky and also a scorer of very important goals, as his efforts in the final game of the first group stage against Feyenoord and in Wales's European qualifying matches prove.

Apart from Bellamy, the other strikers mentioned are all at the peak of their game, or in the case of Shearer possibly a shade off his very best of a few years ago, although some of his opponents thus far this season might beg to differ.

So, who is the name to put alongside Bellamy and Michael Owen as the star of the next few years? The one with the most potential is undoubtedly Wayne Rooney. Despite having only just turned 17, he already has the priceless ability of scoring in the big games. That stunner against Arsenal was nothing more than a marker for the years to come. He is special: confident, strong, quick and unnervingly direct, and so far has been handled absolutely superbly by the management team at Everton.

Have you realised that all of the above have a fantastic work ethic? I don't just mean on the training ground but in matches as well. Henry has been spotted helping out near his own penalty area, and Van Nistelrooy will search for the ball to help alleviate pressure on his own defence. Shearer has always worked extremely hard, Bellamy hunts the ball and Rooney is being urged to temper his natural aggression in tackles. For them, it is a case ofthe harder they work, the more they score.

The Ipswich Town captain was talking to Iain Fletcher