Star men hold the key to Champions League glory
But the sub-plot is one of sport's most eagerly anticipated duels.
If Ali v Frazier, Borg v McEnroe and Coe v Ovett were all heavyweight sporting clashes down the years, then rarely has a team game thrown up a battle between two individuals quite as compelling as that between Henry and Ronaldinho.
The truth is that whoever should prevail in the unofficial encounter for the title of the world’s greatest football player will probably also win the trophy for his team. They are both that crucial to their respective sides.
It is difficult to separate them. Both possess searing pace. Both have an array of tricks, although Ronaldinho’s are more ostentatious.
Both score and make goals for others, although Henry is the out-and- out striker while Ronaldinho operates more often in the hole behind the main front man.
Henry scores more, Ronaldinho makes more assists. Both are free-kick specialists. Both have won the World Cup. Both believe in destiny. And both could argue they have the team- mates with the talent and hunger to lift football's greatest club prize.
Barcelona start as favourites. They are the world's outstanding club team. There is a compelling ebb and flow to their play. In beating Chelsea on the way to the final they proved they have steel, too.
They boast the power of Samuel Eto'o and the guile of Deco but it is Ronaldinho who sets them apart. It is why Arsenal's most important player on the night could be Emmanuel Eboue, the 23-year-old full-back from the Ivory Coast, who must handle the Brazilian better than Jaap Stam managed in the semi-final for AC Milan.
The good news is that Eboue is swifter and more mobile than Stam and is in a rich vein of form. If he can contain Ronaldinho then the Gunners are in with a chance because Henry will find space. It is his stock in trade, especially against a side with such attacking instincts as Barcelona.
Indeed, neither side are at their best when they concentrate on defence as Arsenal proved in their worst performance of the competition against Villarreal away when they were lucky to go through.
It is why football lovers should be in for a treat. Two free-flowing football teams, packed with creative talent. It is a match potentially to rival the thrills of Saturday's FA Cup final when last season’s European champions, Liverpool, were victorious.
And think what a message it would send out for English football if the London reds could take over from the Liverpool reds as the top team in Europe. With the evolving scandal in Italian football and the demise of Real Madrid, the Premiership, with its plethora of foreigners, has never had more global appeal.
But surely an Arsenal victory would confirm it as the best league as well as the most exciting. There is another burning question. Henry’s future. Will he stay at Arsenal and inspire them once more in their new stadium at Ashburton Grove? Or will he pursue a new challenge at Barcelona?
My hunch, win or lose, is that Henry will go. If the Frenchman intended to stay then surely he would have declared his decision after Arsenal had secured fourth position in the Premiership and confirmed their qualifying place in the Champions League next season.
What a momentum boost that would have given his team-mates and Arsenal supporters. Instead Henry steadfastly has kept his counsel and while he insists his mind is not made up, the chances are that the lure of a new club, a new country and an exciting new career could be overwhelming.
If so Arsenal fans should salute the greatest player ever to wear the famous red and white shirt, arguably the greatest to have graced the Premiership, and send him on his way with best wishes. They may never witness his like again.
How much better would they feel, however, if he left behind the Champions League trophy as a memento. At a time when, apart from the issue of Henry, Dennis Bergkamp is retiring and Robert Pires and Ashley Cole's futures are uncertain, it would give Arsenal a flying start to a new era.
Arsene Wenger, a manager hungry for trophies to the point of obsession, said: "My career will never be good enough. I want to win the championship, the league cup, the FA Cup and the European Cup every year."
Sadly, however, I can’t see it. I go for Barcelona 2-1, Ronaldinho to win his personal duel, and Henry to bid a final farewell.
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