The boots left empty by Thierry Henry were always going to be tough ones to fill but, in Emmanuel Adebayor, Arsène Wenger has a striker of a different mould hoping to fit the bill.
The Togolese international grabbed the first senior hat-trick at Emirates Stadium on Saturday and, following his brace at Tottenham the week before, is now the sharpest shooter in the Premier League with six goals.
With this type of form now entering ‘purple patch’ territory comparisons have quickly been made to Arsenal’s former French maestro.
“It’s funny, I thought about Thierry today,” said Wenger after the 5-0 win against Derby. “When Adebayor scored the third goal inside I thought ‘that’s a Thierry goal’.
“He’s not the same kind of player as Thierry”, he continued, “but this kind of goal Thierry used to score. Overall they are different players because Adebayor is more a guy who uses his strength, his power and he is good in the air.”
By the managerÂ’s own admission, it hasnÂ’t always been easy for the former Monaco man, but Wenger is happy with the way his form is coming together.
“He worked very hard and he has improved a lot in his finishing,” said Wenger. “He is intelligent and, as well, he watched the other players and got a lot of advice - especially from Thierry. There are signs there now that they are showing similarities.”