PARIS (AP) — Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona has paid off.

For Arsenal, that is.

Sitting two points clear at the top of the English Premier League, the Gunners are doing just fine without their former superstar.

The French striker, who established himself as one of the game's greats in a Gunners shirt, now wears the blue and maroon stripes of Barcelona. While the Spanish club has stuttered to one win in three games and already trails traditional rival Real Madrid by four points, Arsenal looks even stronger without Henry.

"It was important that we started the season well after losing Thierry Henry in the summer and, while a player like that will never be forgotten, we are moving on now," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said after his team's 3-1 victory at London neighbour Tottenham on Saturday.

"Of course we have not forgotten about Thierry but we have shown that the team is blossoming and growing," Wenger said in a message to the Gunners fans. "That was planned of course but you never know how fast it will happen."

Although Henry set a new goalscoring record for Arsenal (226 goals in 364 matches) and set up countless goals for his teammates, there was a feeling around the club that he left at the right time.

Maybe the Gunners became too reliant on Henry. And maybe Henry became too big for Arsenal.

The striker's body language suggested he was unhappy with the club's apparent lack of ambition in the transfer market. He admitted he was also disappointed that vice chairman David Dein was effectively elbowed out of the club because the board disliked his support for American businessman Stan Kroenke, who wanted to buy the Gunners.

When Henry left to join Barcelona June 22, it seemed as if the Gunners had lost their prize asset.

Not so. The real asset is still with the club — and he used to be on Barcelona's books.

Cesc Fabregas has the potential to be even better than Henry. He splits defences with his passes, is always available to receive the ball from a teammate and reads the game so well he is often starts and finishes moves to score from close range.

"If it becomes hectic he keeps his head and cools the game down when it becomes a bit nervous," Wenger said of Fabregas. "Suddenly he finds a good pass and gets you out of tight situations."

Against Spurs on Saturday, the Spaniard put Arsenal ahead with a long-range bending strike into the top corner for his fifth goal of the season as the Gunners went to the top of the standings, two points ahead of Manchester City and main rivals Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Fabregas acknowledges Henry's contribution to Arsenal but now believes the Gunners are in better overall shape now to win titles.

"Thierry was an important player for a lot of years, but now he's not here, he's gone," he said. "We have to play more as a team like we're doing now. We're playing more collectively, more as a team and this is important.

"Scoring late goals shows we're strong physically and stay in games until the end, which s very important to develop spirit in the team. We never give up."

While Fabregas celebrated his fifth goal of the season — and third in the league — Henry is still looking for his first Spanish League goal for Barcelona. He made little impact as the Catalan side was held to a 0-0 draw at Osasuna on Sunday. Even the Barcelona fans jeered their team at the end.

So it's a neat twist that a player Arsenal persuaded to leave Barcelona at age 16 for no transfer fee is now making the same impact as the star it sold to the Spanish club for US$33 million.