On at the present time in 1997, Arsenal confirmed the signing of a younger striker named Nicolas Anelka from Paris Saint-Germain.
His explosive affect through the subsequent two-and-a-half-year spell in north London catapulted him from unknown teenager to one of many world’s most thrilling attacking abilities.
There can be highs, lows and loads of controversy to come back, however Anelka’s time at Arsenal confirmed him at his devastating greatest, incomes him a £22.3m transfer to Actual Madrid in 1999 and banking the Gunners an enormous revenue on the £500,000 they paid for him.
Anelka was Arsene Wenger’s first official signing as Arsenal supervisor, arriving on the membership as a 17-year-old in February 1997.
He featured sparingly within the second half of the 1996/97 season, his solely 4 appearances coming from the bench in Premier League conferences with Chelsea, Coventry, Newcastle and Derby County. However it did not take him lengthy to determine himself.
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Anelka joined Arsenal for £500,000 from Paris Saint-Germain
A change of blouse numbers hinted at what was to come back. Anelka had been given the No 11 shirt when he first arrived at Arsenal, however Wenger noticed sufficient in these fleeting early appearances at hand him the No 9 forward of his first full season on the membership.
Two months later, he marked his first Premier League begin at Highbury along with his first objective, a thunderous, low strike which beat Peter Schmeichel at his close to publish and helped Arsenal on their technique to a 3-2 win over reigning champions Manchester United.
Anelka acquired his probability that day resulting from an harm to Dennis Bergkamp nevertheless it was Ian Wright who he ended up changing in the long term.
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Nicolas Anelka holds the FA Cup with Marc Overmars in Might 1998
Wright, 33 on the time, had turn into Arsenal’s report goalscorer along with his hat-trick in opposition to Bolton only some weeks earlier however in January he suffered an harm which sidelined him for a number of months within the second half of the season.
Anelka stepped up in his absence, scoring an extra eight objectives in all competitions, the final of which got here within the FA Cup remaining win over Newcastle, securing a well-known double following Arsenal’s Premier League title triumph a fortnight earlier.
Wright watched on as an unused substitute that afternoon at Wembley and Wenger’s religion in Anelka grew to become even clearer when the membership legend was allowed to depart to West Ham that summer time.
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Solely three gamers have scored extra Premier League objectives than Nicolas Anelka as youngsters
It was time for Anelka to take centre stage and, whereas Arsenal’s 1998/99 season was a disappointing one, Manchester United pipping them to the title by a single level and famously beating them within the FA Cup semi-finals too, the Frenchman’s outstanding progress continued.
There have been 19 objectives in all competitions, making him Arsenal’s prime scorer, and plenty of of them have been spectacular. Anelka, electrifyingly quick and devastatingly direct, was additionally an entire striker able to scoring in numerous methods.
There was the gorgeous long-range effort to clinch a 1-0 win over Everton in November 1998, unleashed along with his weaker foot from a diagonal angle.
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Anelka performed in some basic encounters between Arsenal and Man Utd
Then, in a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough a couple of weeks after that, he plucked a looping Remi Garde move out of the air along with his left foot earlier than slotting residence along with his proper from eight yards out.
That objective was Bergkamp-esque in its execution and Anelka additionally had a knack for rounding goalkeepers in one-on-ones, his ability and composure permitting him to slip the ball into an empty web fairly than danger his effort being saved.
There have been extra eye-catching moments within the remaining months of the season, his performances over the course of the marketing campaign incomes him the celebrated the PFA Younger Participant of the Yr award, however his relationship with English soccer was turning into strained.
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Anelka celebrates with Marc Overmars and Ray Parlour
{The teenager}, already nicknamed “Le Sulk” resulting from his non-smiling manner, described himself as “bored” with life in London in a newspaper interview within the second half of the marketing campaign and introduced he did not intend to see out his contract at Arsenal.
And so it proved, with the transfer to Actual Madrid materialising not lengthy afterwards. Wenger had defended Anelka amid public criticism and didn’t need him to depart, however Arsenal would use the funds generated by his sale to signal a sure Thierry Henry.
Henry’s arrival ensured Anelka was not missed within the years forward and the teen struggled to reside as much as expectations within the Spanish capital. However even all these years later, few younger gamers have lit up the Premier League fairly like Anelka did at Arsenal.
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Anelka went on to attain 125 Premier League objectives in complete – listed below are a number of the greatest
