Leicester manager Peter Taylor admitted afterwards: 'It looked like my players had a day off and that's disappointing.
'Arsenal have world-class players and I was a bit nervous coming here a couple of days after their result at Liverpool because good players always bounce back quickly.'
Goalkeeper Alex Manninger would have been as well taking a seat in the stand to get a better view of the action at the other end though it wasn't until 10 minutes from the break that Arsenal made the breakthrough.
Robert Pires had tormented Frank Sinclair on the left flank for much of the half before sauntering across to the opposite side to float an unorthodox corner to the edge of the box.
Since all of the crosses before had attempted to utilise the height in the Arsenal team, Matt Elliott and Gerry Taggart were stranded in the area while everyone else seemed to freeze.
Henry waited until the perfect moment to strike and his volley flew into the corner of the net with controlled power. So flawless was the technique, that it would surely have been awarded a perfect 10 in gymnastics.
Behind him, Patrick Vieira was digging in and running forward with the same purpose and effect which saw him start the season so well before suspension and injury robbed Wenger of his influence.
His impact on the match, however, was second only to that of Henry who created Arsenal's second on 50 minutes. He took Kanu's pass and dinked it into the path of Vieira who juggled the ball on his knee before chipping over Flowers and ensuring the ball crossed the line.
With less than five minutes of the second half gone, the match looked over. Taylor, however, saw a chink of hope and replaced Stefan Oakes with Trevor Benjamin with immediate effect.
It was the substitute's header which found the Arsenal defence napping and almost caught out Manninger. He did manage to parry but Ade Akinbiyi was sharper than anyone else and stroked the rebound into the net.
Tony Adams looked stunned that his Arsenal side had enjoyed the comfort of a two-goal lead for only five minutes and the skipper began to push forward on some of those mad, but productive, forays which have marked his incredible career.
The captain needn't have worried too much though since Lee Dixon lobbed a pass at Henry who was so far away from goal that it seemed incredibly unlikely he would score. But the Frenchman is renowned for creating something from nothing.
Henry turned Elliott despite a pull on his shirt and showed no mercy to Flowers, beating the keeper through his legs. When Freddie Ljungberg rattled in a rebound off the post from Igor Stepanovs header, it was definitely Arsenal's day.
Henry found himself all alone running at Flowers minutes later and he rounded the goalkeeper before finding the net from the angle. But he celebrated his maiden hat-trick for the club by sitting forlornly on the turf behind the goal - his head in his hands.
The dark side of this complex character manifested itself afterwards when he blamed the many critics of his recent form for his sudden return to scoring ways.
No-one but Adams can explain what he was doing arriving at the back post to volley the sixth goal and his first in the Premiership for over two years.
But there was still no smile from Henry at the final whistle. He grabbed his trophy of the match-ball and saluted the adoring crowd by holding it above his head.
It was a fitting symbol. Playing like he did in this match, the Frenchman could have the whole world at his feet, never mind in his hands, but only when he can do it on a regular basis.
