Opta Player of the Month

The first month of 2006 has been filed in the history books - who came out on top?

The first month of 2006 has been filed in the history books and those tomes will show that Thierry Henry was the Opta Player of the Month for January.

Memorably, the Frenchman thrilled Arsenal fans by announcing he wanted to stay at the club, but it was his performance in the home clash with Middlesbrough that earned him the bulk of his Opta Index points.

A hat-trick and two assists was a predictably devastating contribution from Henry as The Gunners dismantled Boro 7-0. He demonstrated the full range of his Gallic trickery and left the home fans in raptures.

Henry also played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United and Everton but was not able to contribute as much in those fixtures.

Second best in January is another player used to the warm glow of praise, namely Frank Lampard. The England schemer, like Henry, did not miss a single minute of action in January as he helped the league champions to seven points from three games.

Lampard's finest hour was on January 2 when he scored The Blues' first goal away at West Ham. It was a sweet moment for the former Upton Park midfielder, especially with the antipathy of The Irons' fans ringing in his ears. Lampard also created seven goalscoring chances for the leaders during the month, only emphasising his importance to the cause.

The third, fourth and fifth places are all filled by central defenders - a slightly unusual trend - but all three had an excellent month and deserve their exposure. Matthew Upson was an ever-present in January, scoring his first goal of the season in Birmingham's record Premiership win, 5-0 against Portsmouth.

Wigan's Arjan De Zeeuw made a mammoth 55 clearances as he marshalled The Latics' backline in three of their four league games, while Rio Ferdinand continued his excellent recent form, winning 100 percent of his tackles in January and scoring a never-to-be-forgotten last-minute winner against Liverpool.