Ludicrous though it sounds, Thierry Henry has serious competition in the popularity stakes at Highbury. Arsenal’s player-of-the-year accolade may appear to be a formality, but there is a groundswell of support for a young spark from Côte d’Ivoire whose efforts have been startling.

Watching Nicolas Anelka witnessing another game thrown away as only Manchester City can, it is the blankness of his body language, the emptiness in his expression that really make you wonder what goes on in his head. It says something that people are still fascinated – after all, he has not given many clues in nearly 10 seasons as a professional.

Depending on who you listen to, Bryan Robson is either already the manager of Nigeria, will be soon enough, or it’ll never happen. This level of confusion demonstrates the problem with clarity in African football. Dozens of players are about to become embroiled in the biennial European club versus African country row.

Nobody in English football is as equipped to measure the explosive force of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as the man with the unenviable job of fending off the fire every single day at training.