Arsenal may have another Thierry Henry and Robert Pires for Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta could have another Thierry Henry and Robert Pires relationship to fall back on as Arsenal look to end a two-decade drought for a Premier League title.

Henry and Pires were two of Arsenal’s dynamite men the last time they were crowned English champions 20 years ago, with the two often heard singing each other’s praises.

“We know each other so well that sometimes we don’t even have to look at each other; we just pass the ball,” Henry once said of his compatriot.

It could be argued the Gunners never truly replaced the dynamic duo - at least not until now.

Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka appear to have taken up the mantle of Arsenal’s two most important players in the final third, with the pair linking up stylishly for the opening goal during Saturday’s win over Nottingham Forest.

Odegaard’s return has been a welcome one for Arsenal, not least because they’d struggled for creativity in their side after the Norway international went down injured earlier this season.

Aside from Saka, who led the league, no Arsenal player had created more than three big chances in the Premier League this term.

Saka showed his creative ability once again this weekend, picking up another assist against Forest - his eighth of an already profitable campaign.

The relationship between Saka and Odegaard is something Arteta was quizzed on post-match, with the Arsenal boss insisting it’s happened naturally.

He said “When we’re talking about fluidity, understanding chemistry, timing, he [Odegaard] is one of the best to do that. To manage the tempo of the game.

“When to accelerate, when to slow it down. Obviously he’s been missed, but we have to sub him because he’ll get tired and fade a little bit."

Arteta continued: “Sometimes you meet somebody and straight away you make eye contact, something froze. It happens off the field and on the field.

“In football, it’s very difficult to say. But when you put them together in the right spaces close together, things flourish and things happen. With others, you try to force it and it doesn’t work. With these two we’re very lucky to have them.”

Keeping the two fit will be Arteta’s biggest challenge ahead of a hectic winter period, which continues this week when Arsenal travel to Lisbon.

Sporting might’ve lost Ruben Amorim to Manchester United, but the same crop of players dismantled Premier League champions Manchester City 4-1 just three weeks ago.

The action gets underway in the Portuguese capital at 8pm on Tuesday night.