He was allowed to stay at home in the north east for an extra couple of days as wife Jane is expecting their first child.

Newcastle’s number one will now turn his thoughts from the prospect of sleepless nights to hopefully keeping Thierry Henry quiet at the Stade de France.

Henry will again carry the hopes of a French nation on his shoulders into the crucial encounter in St Denis, aware he has been struggling for form at international level of late.

While Henry can seemingly do no wrong for Arsenal, he has scored just twice in his last 10 matches for France, attracting a certain amount of criticism into the bargain.

But Given believes that factor will count for nothing come kick-off, remarking: “People can write what they want, but you can’t put a good player down.

“He is one of the best players in the world as he has pace, a great finish, everything, as he showed by scoring a goal out of nothing on Saturday (against Charlton).

“I know he’s scored a few against me – but then there’s not that many he hasn’t scored against.

“He’s just a top player and if he gets his chance he will put it away, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s at club or international level.”

It is not surprising that much of the attention focuses on Henry, particularly with Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira suspended, several other key players including David Trezeguet injured, and in the wake of Zinedine Zidane’s summer decision to quit international football.

Given is wary of too much attention – if not praise – being lavished on Henry, adding: “We have to concentrate on other players as well, like Cisse, Wiltord, Pires, Dacourt and even at the back with Gallas and Silvestre, with Barthez in goal.

“They’ve a world-class team and people shouldn’t forget that. They’re also at home and favourites, but we will try to make it as hard as possible for them and hopefully get a good result.”

Charlton midfielder Matt Holland, who made his return from a two-month lay-off against the Gunners at the weekend, is another member of the Henry fan club.

The former Ipswich midfielder, who has recovered from an ankle ligament injury, looked on with admiration on Saturday when Henry scored with a cheeky backheel through the legs of defender Jonathan Fortune.

“He is a fantastic player and he can go long periods without doing a great deal before then sparking to life and doing something magical like he did on Saturday,” said Holland.

“I was warming up on the touchline and saw it from a good angle. Jon did everything he could as he was tight to Henry, but he scored a goal from nothing. It was a fabulous bit of skill.”

Like Given, however, Holland knows France are not a one-man band, adding: “All we can do is face the team in front of us, and we will do that and do our best. That’s all we can think about.”

Given could be forgiven for having other matters on his mind, but he is adamant he has not lost focus for tomorrow’s game, even though the baby is due in a fortnight.

At least Given provided the most light-hearted moment at today’s media conference.

When asked about the situation at home, he replied: “We’re just hanging on at the minute.

“I’ve told her [Jane] to keep her legs crossed until I get home!”

After realising what he had said, Given added with a smile: “But it’s a big time in my life, having my first kid and I’m looking forward to it.

“But it’s not difficult to stay focused. Although I met up with the squad a couple of days later, I was still training at Newcastle and totally focused on the job in hand, so I haven’t missed anything in that respect.

“I trained with the lads yesterday, this morning and will do so again tomorrow. So I’m totally focused on the game and appreciate how difficult it is going to be.”