The Frenchman grabbed his first goal in eight games and with a little more care might well have recorded a hat-trick in a generally one-sided game as Arsenal increased their record to 13 games since they were last beaten by Villa.
Henry was assisted in no small way by a vintage performance from Dennis Bergkamp, while the midfield of Patrick Vieira and Edu maintained a stranglehold on the match.
Ashley Cole, who earlier in the week found himself in the middle of an alleged illegal approach scandal involving league leaders, Chelsea, was not apparently concerned and recorded his second Premiership goal of the season in this easy success.
But the main factor was that it turned out to be an opportune match for Henry to atone for his recent uncharacteristic lapse in form.
Henry, who has criticised Arsenal for not strengthening the side during the January transfer window, should have ended his seven-game drought as early as the eighth minute when Bergkamp found the striker with an astute pass, only to see his colleague loft the ball his shot high over the bar.
This incident highlighted the fact that Villa were simply not in the same class as the Gunners who shot down the Birmingham club with a display of skill and lethal finishing.
Admittedly Villa were badly depleted with the absence of such players as Darius Vassell, Mark Delaney, Gavin McCann, Lee Hendrie and Martin Laursen.
It was obvious that Arsenal had a point to prove following their 4-2 home defeat at the hands of Manchester United which seemingly ended their hopes of retaining the championship.
A seemingly out of form Vieira was Arsenal's guiding light as he quickly assumed control of the midfield with Villa's Steven Davis and newcomer Eric Djemba-Djemba completely bemused by the Gunners' domination.
There have been comments that Arsene Wenger might well have to dismantle current side but this would seem to be most unlikely with the way they effortlessly destroyed Villa.
Following a run of just seven wins in their previous 15 Premiership games Arsenal may have lost their invincible touch, but there was ample evidence that the Gunners are still a formidable side as they effectively sealed their latest success over Villa in the opening 14 minutes.
Without really having to get into top gear they ripped Villa apart and could well have been four goals ahead in the first 15 minutes.
Following Henry's early miss Arsenal went ahead in the10th minute when Villa skipper Olof Mellberg was left flat-footed by a through pass from Edu.
Liam Ridgewell was likewise slow in covering and Freddie Ljungberg gained possession to score with a low cross past Thomas Sorensen.
Edu then smashed a shot against the post and Henry blasted the rebound over the bar, as Villa were unable to stem the ever growing tide of Arsenal attacks.
Henry finally ended his recent barren spell in the 14th minute when he scored his first goal in eight games when he capitalised upon a defence splitting pass from Vieira.
It was his 21st goal of the season and released a lot of pressure on both himself and Arsenal as they coasted to a comfortable win over a ragged and disjointed Villa.
Henry was also involved in Arsenal's third goal when he put the skilful Bergkamp in possession. The Dutchman cleverly slipped a through pass into the path of Cole to unleash a rifle like shot past the demoralised Sorensen.
Villa were never in contention and as a result Juan Pablo Angel had little chance to shine against a depleted Arsenal defence which lacked the services of both Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure.
Sadly this Villa performance only endorsed the fact that they are nowhere near a top-six side as their shortcomings were cruelly exposed by the ease in which Arsenal were able to record their ninth away win of the season.
On his home debut Djemba-Djemba, the Cameroon international midfielder was plainly out of his depth against such formidable opposition and was replaced in the second half by Mathieu Berson when Arsenal dropped down a gear.
This allowed Villa to get back into the game and Angel reduced the arrears in the 74th minute when Ulises De la Cruz pulled a pass back into the path of the Villa striker to score with the Birmingham club's first shot on target.
Man of the Match: Dennis Bergkamp - The Dutchman's skill was the telling factor in a one-sided win.