Henry wins writers' vote

Thierry Henry was last night voted the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year. The Arsenal striker's award comes less than a week after he was voted the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

Henry finished in front of the Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Although he has scored 10 goals less than Van Nistelrooy's tally of 40, the Frenchman's all-round input, assists and flair, allied to the fact that many votes were cast before United's recent resurgence, enabled him to prevail.

Henry becomes the fourth Frenchman to lift the award, following Eric Cantona, David Ginola and last year's winner, Arsenal's Robert Pires. He is also the 11th player to win both trophies in the same season.

Alan Shearer, of Newcastle, finished third, followed by Gianfranco Zola, of Chelsea, and Arsenal's Patrick Vieira.

The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, said: "I think it's remarkable what he has done. He's the best scorer and best provider – so the choice is quite obvious this season."