Thierry Henry ensured Arsenal’s place in history when they broke Nottingham Forest’s 26-year-old record of 42 English league matches unbeaten by defeating Blackburn Rovers 3-0 at Highbury on Wednesday.
Henry poked in Dennis Bergkamp’s 50th-minute cross and took the corner which Cesc Fabregas tucked in eight minutes later. The France striker then laid on a third for Jose Antonio Reyes 11 minutes from time to send Arsene Wenger’s side back above Chelsea at the top of the English Premiership.
The Gunners’ record-breaking unbeaten run began back in May 2003 with a 6-1 drubbing of Southampton, and though Blackburn boss Graeme Souness was part of the Liverpool side that halted Forest’s run in 1978, he could not repeat the trick.
Arsenal passed the ball with the confidence of champions and Henry served an early warning with three shots at Brad Freidel in the first five minutes. The Gunners threatened outside the box but Rovers were able to get intercepting touches and break down Arsenal attacks.
Rovers gave Arsenal a fright five minutes later when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann first kept out Craig Short’s volley, then after Scotland striker Paul Dickov’s pullback from the goal-line and Jon Stead’s goalmouth scramble follow-up.
Australia’s Brett Emerton and Lucas Neill were both booked for clumsy challenges on Arsenal’s France winger Robert Pires.
Blackburn had two further opportunities within a minute when Vratislav Gresko’s cross was just above Stead, and Neill’s subsequent cross from the opposite right flank was too strong for Dickov to control.
Dickov then broke into the box and wrestled off Pascal Cygan but Lehmann got down well to his low cross-shot.
Spaniard Fabregas should have opened the scoring when Dennis Bergkamp’s superbly-judged dummy left Friedel’s goal at the 17-year-old’s mercy but he placed his shot wide.
And the wonderkid, in for injured skipper Patrick Vieira, had another shot deflected over just before the break after Pires’ lay-off in the area.
But four minutes after half-time, Henry broke the deadlock.
Bergkamp crossed from the right side of the penalty area and the France striker dashed between the Rovers centre-halves, giving Friedel no chance with his six-yard toe-poke high into the net.
Henry was the provider eight minutes later when Fabregas became Arsenal’s youngest scorer in league football. From Henry’s left-wing corner, Gilberto, on his 100th Arsenal appearance, directed a far-post header downwards back across Friedel, Fabregas deflecting the ball past a stranded Vratislav Gresko on the line.
With 11 minutes to go, Henry set up Reyes, who had replaced Bergkamp three minutes earlier. The Frenchman broke through with a pacy run, and though his shot was well saved by Friedel, just when it seemed Henry had delayed too long with the rebound, he squared for Reyes to drive in a sidefoot shot at the far post to round off the night and put the champions into the record books. – Sapa-AFP