Thierry Henry was hailed as the world's best striker by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Friday after he scored four goals in the English premier league leaders' 5-0 rout of relegation-haunted Leeds United.
Henry is the first Arsenal player for 53 years to score hat tricks in successive games at Highbury -- he scored three in the 4-2 defeat of Liverpool last Friday -- and the first to score four goals in a game for the club since Ian Wright in 1991.
The win put Arsenal 10 points clear at the top with just five games remaining and Wenger labelled his side's finishing as "perfect".
Asked whether there was a better striker than Henry in world soccer, he said: "I don't think so. I am not the most objective person but personally - no, I don't think so.
"His finishing gets better and when he breaks through no one can catch him. It's not only his pace, it's his power and his clinical finishing.
"It's difficult to find new words for Thierry, the best is just to watch him.
"And the best age starts now for him," Wenger said of the 26-year-old who has scored 29 league goals this season in 32 games.
SWEET FINISH
French midfielder Robert Pires started the scoring in the sixth minute with a sweet finish after a superb one-touch move by Arsenal from inside their own half, and after that it was all Henry.
He scored two in the first half, including a penalty, and another couple of scintillating finishes after the break took him to third in Arsenal's all-time scorers list above John Radford. Only Cliff Bastin (178) and Wright (185) remain to be caught.
Wenger said Wright had been more "obsessed" with scoring than Henry. However, the Frenchman said in the match programme on Friday he had his eye on the record of the former England international.
"The one thing that I am aware of is how far away I am from Wrighty's record. To be honest that's the only thing I know. I just look at him at the top of the list."
Wenger still refuses to accept the premier league title is won despite Arsenal remaining unbeaten since the season started. "There's still a way to go, it's far from being done. But we are in a great position now."
Leeds remain in the bottom three with 32 points from 34 games. However, manager Eddie Gray said there was no disgrace in losing to the best team in the country.
"We were playing against a superior team and there was no lack of effort. The way they performed showed the huge gulf between us. It's difficult to compare sides but they are as good as any side I've seen. They are easy on the eye, great stuff."
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