Arsenal penalty king Henry's spot of French dressing

On the face of it, the Premiership clash between Arsenal and Charlton Athletic was everything one would expect of it. A highly-talented Arsenal side thrashing a team struggling against relegation. There were goals from Theirry Henry and Robin Van Persie, of course. In fact, the only thing that seemed odd about the game was that an Englishman scored for Arsenal for the first time in a year and a half.

However, a closer inspection of the match report would have shown that Henry scored a penalty in the first half, being captain and first-choice taker, while Van Persie converted from the spot later in the match.

Henry was obviously off the pitch when Van Persie took his penalty. Nope. He in fact won the penalty in the first place. Henry was injured in the incident, then. Nope. The Frenchman was clipped in the box, jumped up instantaneously and handed the ball to Van Persie. Henry’s first penalty was so horrendous that he had lost his confidence. Not even close - he had scored with ease in the first half.

Why would a player who has made his name by becoming the Gunners’ highest-ever scorer refuse the simple opportunity of a penalty? This occurrence is not as strange as it sounds. Avid Premiership viewers will know that Henry refuses to take penalties that he has won himself. Like most footballers, Monsieur Henry is superstitious and it seems his team-mates agree.

You will recall a game at Highbury in 2005 when Robert Pires, after scoring a good penalty against Manchester City, had another chance from the spot that resulted in disastrous consequences. Pires decided to attempt a back-heel towards Henry but the ball remained on the spot, resulting in a free-kick to City. His face went as red as his shirt.

It seems perplexing that players of such ability, especially strikers, would not take the opportunity to fill their boots on such occasions. As captain, Henry of course can decide whomever he likes for the duty, but surely his own responsibilities dictate that he should be in the firing line.

We were all bored to death by the repetitiveness of Alan Shearer scoring most of his final goals for Newcastle United from the spot, but his instincts as a striker and captain dictated his decisions. It must have been refreshing for Gunners fans to watch stand-in captain Gilberto, one of the least-gifted members of the team, take responsibility in crucial Premiership and Champions League games.

And anyway, is scoring a penalty that difficult for these players? There are so many different techniques to be employed and the player has the distinct advantage over the goalkeeper that he knows where it is going. There are, of course, those high-pressure situations that spectators will never experience but there have been players down the years who have shown the others the way. Here are just a few …

The ‘Dicks’ – Named after former West Ham skipper Julian Dicks. His method on penalties was simply to kick the ball as hard a possible in the general direction of the goal. The ball would have broken the keeper's hand if he had got anywhere near it.

The ‘Zidane’ – The likes of Eric Cantona, Paulo Di Canio and Dwight Yorke have also tried this one, but named after Zizou after pulling it off in the World Cup Final. The player runs up to the ball at speed as if he is going to blast it and at the last moment dinks it down the middle. The keeper, who has already committed himself (they always do), looks on in horror as the ball floats past.

The ‘Cantona’ – King Eric was formidable at penalty taking and this was his classic technique. Cantona would run up to the ball having not made his decision as to where it was going, knowing the keeper always moves early. Simply looking at the keeper until the final moment, he would place the ball in the opposite corner. Easy.

Le ‘Tissier’ - Le God knew there was always one place where the keeper cannot save a penalty - in the top corner. So the man from Guernsey kept putting the ball there and is still the Premiership's record penalty scorer.

The ‘Lampard’ - Apart from his aberration in the World Cup, Big Fat Frank is a maestro at penalty taking. His theory? Low and hard in the bottom corner every time works best, less potential for ballooning the ball over the bar (Jaap Stam, Chris Waddle etc) and the keeper needs to be 10ft tall to save it.

So come on Thierry, take your pick!