Wenger: Henry’s another Cruyff
Henry has already notched up 99 league goals in just 159 games, 15 of them as a substitute, since his arrival in English football in August 1999.
He has every chance of reaching his century when Southampton visit Highbury, with Jose Reyes set to partner him up front in the absence of Dennis Bergkamp.
Wenger declared: "It's a sign of a great player. What is remarkable though is that Thierry doesn't have the game of a goalscorer.
"If I told you that a guy had scored 99 goals in 159 games, you'd think that he would wait for every chance in the box and never cross the ball. But he's completely different.
"He has the game of a footballer who drifts out wide and doesn't just play inside the box. It's unconventional.
"Is there another player like him in the world? I don't think so. He's as much a provider as a goalscorer and he doesn't just score tap-ins."
Asked to compare Henry to Dutch legend Johann Cruyff, Wenger added: "All the great players can take people on and give a final ball. You didn't really know where someone like Johann Cruyff played."
Henry similarly roams at will, with his assist rate being particularly impressive, although he is even more prolific than Cruyff managed to be.
Then again, it must be remembered that the Frenchman still took several months to settle into life at Highbury following his move from Juventus, where he had struggled to make his mark as a winger.
Now the Arsenal boss is attempting a similar feat in transforming 20-year-old Spanish international Reyes after his multi-million pound move from Seville, where he often operated on the left flank.
"I feel that we are a team with no fixed positions so everyone can play a bit everywhere. I will try to give him a chance centrally as well," he said.
Reyes has appeared three times for Arsenal already, although twice as a substitute, and Wenger had been hoping to ease him into Premiership action expecting his best form to come next season.
Bergkamp's calf injury, allied to the continued absences of Sylvain Wiltord, Jeremie Aliadiere, Kanu and Fredrik Ljungberg, have nevertheless forced his hand.
"Ideally, I'd have left him a bit more time but I have no choice with so many people out or away," confirmed the Arsenal boss.
"I believe you will see his real potential at the start of next season but I hope the fact that I play him quickly will get him adapted earlier.
"There are many new ingredients for him like the language, the cold and the physical game but I hope that playing him will speed up his adaptation without losing his confidence.
"He's a positive boy as he's integrated quickly into the group and at least he can speak Spanish with six or seven other players in the squad.
"I like the fact that he can provide and that he has pace and good technique. His team attitude and work rate are also very good."
Meanwhile, Wenger has insisted that he is under just as much pressure to achieve success as Claudio Ranieri from himself.
Ranieri has been warned by Chelsea's new chief executive, Peter Kenyon, that not lifting a trophy this season would be considered a "failure," while Wenger has the complete support of the Arsenal board.
However, the Arsenal boss insisted: "I feel we are all under pressure but the biggest pressure any manager has is that which he puts on himself.
"You always want to respond to your desire to win, that's the most important pressure you have. I feel fortunate to work for my club but it's very difficult to compare with other clubs.
"I know only one thing if I don't win, I'm disappointed. The pressure coming from everywhere else is different. All the rest you can deal with."
"I have forgotten now what my chairman said 20, 10 or five years ago. But I still remember every game I lost when it turned against us or the titles I didn't win.
"Those stay with you for your whole life."
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