PREMIERSHIP: Kevin McCarra compares and contrasts the lethal styles of Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

A stiriker has to learn how to disguise his runs, but there was a time when even Ruud van Nistelrooy himself did not know where he would end up. Although the Dutchman and Thierry Henry, in a test of marksmanship, might decide whether victory goes to Manchester United or Arsenal this afternoon, it is an unlikely piece of matchmaking that pits them against each other.

They are separated by more than just their radically differing styles. The contrast was at its most marked in 1997: while Henry, still a teenager, bellowed in joy as Monaco won the French championship, van Nistelrooy was taking a deep breath and wondering whether he could cut it in the Dutch first division with Heerenveen.

The attacker, who turned 21 that summer, had spent four years with Den Bosch at a lower level. Scouts looked at him and, in most cases, quickly put a line through his name. A year later PSV Eindhoven would pay Heerenveen £4.2 million for him, but that only happened once Bobby Robson became coach there. The man who is now in charge of Holland was unmoved by Van Nistelrooy as a PSV prospect.

"Dick Advocaat didn't like him and thought there were too many minuses," recalled Fred van der Hoorn, the Den Bosch technical director who was then a team-mate of van Nistelrooy. The reservations about him were not the grotesque mistakes they now appear. For a forward, he was afflicted with the most inconvenient defect.

"At that time, he was a very poor finisher," said van der Hoorn. "He got the opportunities but he was like a young boy. He didn't have that quiet, cool attitude you need to take a chance. He would shake his head and get annoyed with himself."

Van Nistelrooy had ached with ambition since childhood and, in an overwrought state, may have been balking himself. It is a different person entirely who said, more recently: "When I score, it's because I don't think. I let my instinct do the work."

A gift must always be refined, but while Henry was at France's national coaching centre in Clairefontaine before, at 14, becoming part of Monaco's youth academy, van Nistelrooy was enrolled in a different sort of finishing school. At that stage he had scored only 17 goals in 69 second division games with Den Bosch, but he was going to a club that trades in transformation. As he arrived, Jon Dahl Tomasson, now with Milan, was leaving. Foppe de Haan, coach of Heerenveen since 1985, is adept at developing footballers, but that northern area of the Netherlands also made its contribution.

The inhabitants of Friesland are known for a solid, taciturn disposition, and when they do speak it is likely to be in their language, which is impenetrable to the rest of the country. The club is in a town of only 28,000 people but it draws support from throughout the region, and the Friesland anthem is sung lustily before each game.

A sturdy, self-reliant image is cultivated, and players are often seen cycling to training. Endorsement of the club is meant to be a matter of loyalty rather than a whim. Several sponsors once withdrew when the club was relegated and, after Heerenveen re-entered the top flight, offers of fresh backing from those firms were rejected.

Van Nistelrooy took a huge step in going to a place where the local tongue and customs had to be understood. "He had to stand on his own two feet and find out about life there," said van der Hoorn. Although Manchester United ruled out a bid then, van Nistelrooy acquired the poise that so distinguishes him in the goalmouth.

The fastidious Old Trafford club also decided against making Monaco an offer for Henry. The Frenchman had not gone through van Nistelrooy's travails, but his unusual style of play required time to mature fully. Jean Tigana, then the Monaco coach, at least had an inkling of how Henry ought to be shaped.

"He used him on the left," said John Collins, the midfielder who is now with Tigana at Fulham and was then in the French club's midfield. "Henry wasn't a pure winger because he didn't have enough quality when he delivered with his left foot. He wanted to come inside the full-back.

"Thierry wasn't complete then. It's a great credit to him and to Arsene Wenger that he's reached such a standard now. These days he can go both ways. He makes defences uncertain with that movement he's got. The full-back will wonder whether he should stay with him or hope that the centre-half does. Teams will keep three players back because they know that a really good pass might take out two of them. Once Henry does get away, he's gone for good. He's Formula One.

"He'll always create chances. His friend David Trezeguet is a great finisher but he won't dribble or feint, he has to be given the ball. Henry has another layer to him."

Opponents are allowed few afternoons off. Despite the sprinting, Henry tends to escape muscle strains, and the only match for which he was unavailable this season - the draw with Chelsea - found him ruled out by a bruised foot. Collins interprets that as the reward for abiding by the French regime, with its stretching work and attention to diet.

The wellbeing that he radiates is a health hazard to others. "Henry's got that bit of arrogance," said David Weir, the Everton centre-half. "To be honest, you're thinking about damage limitation. You sometimes see that he's quite far out and think 'That's not too bad', but with his acceleration it's still very hard to stop him from getting through.

"Henry is all power and pace. He seems to set up many of the goals for himself and he covers a lot of the pitch. On top of that, he also makes chances for team-mates. Henry is more prepared than van Nistelrooy to go into positions where he himself is not going to get a goal. Now that he's started to bang in free-kicks, there's not much left for him to conquer.

"Van Nistelrooy does a lot of his work in front of the posts and has that single- mindedness about scoring, even though he also links up well. He is clever about finding a bit of space for himself."

It is fatuous to extol one at the expense of the other. Since the beginning of last season, Henry has scored 33 Premiership goals to van Nistelrooy's 31, but he has also been less hampered by injury. The Frenchman, however, seems to attract special interest because of his distinctive method, and Alfredo di Stefano, the Real Madrid honorary president, has ignored figures at the Bernabeu such as Roberto Carlos and proposed that Henry ought to be elected European footballer of the year.

Van Nistelrooy, with his ability to shield the ball and his scrupulous finishing, is more like an exalted version of the classic British centre-forward. Both men are devastating. From their distant starting points they have come together in this country, and the clash of their talents will go far to determine the outcome of the Premiership for as long as they stay in England.

- Guardian Service