English Premier League:Emmanuel Adebayor received a text message of congratulations from Thierry Henry immediately after Arsenal's victory over Blackburn Rovers on Monday, a win which propelled the Londoners five points clear at the top of the Premier League and strengthened belief within the squad that the title might be claimed after four years.

Success over a resilient Rovers team unbeaten in their previous seven matches in the league, was only assured with Adebayor's 13th goal in 11 games in stoppage time at the end. It was the ninth game in a row in which the Togo forward has scored, edging him closer to Ian Wright's club record of 11 consecutive scoring appearances. He is level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 19 league goals, with Henry, whose departure for Barcelona last summer thrust more onus on Adebayor's role, offering the African support after watching Monday's game from Spain.

"Thierry is like my brother," said Adebayor, who followed a similar path to the Premier League after spending time in France with Monaco, just as Henry had before leaving for Juventus in 1999. "He sent me another message just after the end of the game to congratulate me. He talks to me a lot. During the summer, we spoke a lot. He told me he believed in me, and believed in my qualities. I want to thank him a lot because he has helped me so much, and continues to do so.

"He sends me messages saying things like: 'I know you have a lot of qualities to your game. You have scored 15 or 16 goals this season but you can score more if you put more concentration in your game.' That is what I am trying to do now.

"Listening to him, and other older players who know what they are talking about, makes me very happy. I don't know if he speaks to the other players at the club but the most important thing is that we are still in touch. I like talking to him.

"Winning the Golden Boot would be brilliant but I want to win the title. If I win that award but not the league championship, I will feel as if I have not really won anything. I love watching Cristiano Ronaldo play - it is like watching a player on PlayStation, he has so much quality, and you have to give him respect for what he has achieved scoring so many goals from midfield. But, as far as I'm concerned, it is all about winning the title."

Arsenal are a team transformed this term without Henry, a talisman and record scorer whose departure in the close season had briefly suggested this side's days as challengers were behind them. They sit resplendent five points clear at the summit for now with an FA Cup fifth-round tie at Manchester United, their closest rivals, to come this weekend.

Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue returned to England on Monday and reported to training at London Colney yesterday, boosting a squad that had been stretched through the African Cup of Nations.

Now they are strengthened for the run-in, even if caution remains in view of the daunting contests - not least at United and third-placed Chelsea - to come.

"To be five points clear is good but the title is not finished as teams can always come from behind," added Adebayor. "We just want to keep our focus at the moment. We shouldn't talk about the title until the end of the season. But it'll be good to have Kolo and Eboue back and others coming into contention. When we have all our players back, we can focus on the title easier.

"We have a good squad, a desire to win the league and a realisation that we must keep doing our jobs. It is not going to be easy. It's going to be tough - we must go to Chelsea, go to Manchester and we are playing Liverpool as well - but it will be exciting."

• Guardian Service