Henry's treble gives Arsenal perfect start

Roma 1 Arsenal 3

Thierry Henry never glittered in Serie A. Unloved and unappreciated, he left Juventus for London in despair after six miserable months. His career has since blossomed but he has never forgotten that twilight time. Only recently he said he wanted to stay at Arsenal to repay them for rescuing his career. Imagine, then, the pleasure he felt in the Italian capital last night after his superbly executed hat-trick condemned Roma to a shattering home defeat.

Henry's treble enabled Arsenal, like Manchester United on Tuesday, to recover from the shock of conceding an early goal to take a huge step towards qualifying for the Champions' League quarter-finals. With Valencia unexpectedly held at home to Ajax, Arsenal will go into the winter break clear leaders of Group B if they can defeat the Spanish champions at Highbury on 12 December.

"Henry was exceptional but it was an outstanding team performance," his manager, Arsène Wenger, said. "We had a difficult start but came back well. We dominated the second half and could have scored more."

Although Arsenal did control the second half, Wenger had the grace to admit the game could have gone either way. Midway through the opening period, with the game level and Roma threatening, Pascal Cygan cleared a Francesco Totti volley off the line with his knee. Before and after Lubos Michel, a strong Slovakian referee, ignored several impassioned penalty appeals. He was right, in every case, but other referees might have buckled in the fervent atmosphere.

Roma should have had one spot-kick, in the second minute, when Cygan halted Antonio Cassano with a two-footed tackle in the box. That could not be said to have changed the game, though, as, two minutes later, Totti created another chance. Cassano, who cost Roma £17m when still a teenager, mis-hit his shot but it bobbled past Rami Shabaan and trickled in off a post.

Shabaan was in for David Seaman, who failed a test on his groin. Compensation came with Oleg Luzhny's recovery from hamstring problems. The Ukrainian combined well with Fredrik Ljungberg on the right, forcing Vincent Candela to concentrate on defence.

Roma's other wing-back, Cafu, was less contained. With Robert Pires hesitant, Ashley Cole, watched by Sven Goran Eriksson, had a tough evening. Yet only Cafu's runs, and Totti's genius, troubled Arsenal, who commanded midfield through the energy and composure of Gilberto Silva and Patrick Vieira. It was the former who set up Henry for Arsenal's quick riposte, 82 seconds after Cassano's goal. Receiving the ball on the left, he curled a shot round Francesco Antonioli.

Roman frustration grew as both Totti and Cassano had penalty appeals denied and a string of offsides were called. Water bottles, some full, cascaded towards the assistant referee, doubtless grateful there was a running track between him and the fans.

These reverses unsettled Roma and, Cafu's breaks apart, they struggled to gain enough possession to apply pressure. Fabio Capello thus sacrificed the disappointing Marco Delvecchio for a fifth midfielder just before the hour. Although this gave Roma more ball they continued to lack penetration, as Totti had been pushed forward. Indeed, their best subsequent chance followed a freak slip by Sol Campbell after 64 minutes. Totti pounced and released Gianni Guigou, who advanced on Shabaan. The keeper, committed, just managed a crucial touch before felling the Uruguayan. As home players and fans alike howled for a spot-kick, Michel stood firm.

It proved decisive. Six minutes later Luzhny swung a deep cross into the box. Henry, having gone up for a header with Panucci, reacted first as the ball broke on the deck and drilled in. Five minutes later, during which time Shaaban parried a Cafu shot, Arsenal settled the tie. Sylvain Wiltord, otherwise quiet, was tripped by Emerson on the counter-attack. Henry stepped up to curl the free-kick past Antonioli for his 13th goal of the season and sixth in seven Champions' League matches. Few, though, will have been as satisfying.

Roma (3-4-1-2): Antonioli; Zebina, Samuel, Panucci; Cafu, Emerson, Lima (Batistuta, 72), Candela; Totti; Cassano (Montella, 64), Delvecchio (Guigou, 56) Substitutes not used: Pelizzoli (gk), Cufre, Bombardini, Guardiola.

Arsenal (4-4-2): Shaaban; Luzhny, Campbell, Cygan, Cole; Pires (Van Bronckhorst, 78), Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Ljungberg (Edu, 90); Wiltord (Keown, 84), Henry. Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Jeffers, Stepanovs, Volz.

Referee: L Michel (Slovakia).