‘One of the best’ – Thierry Henry could have been eclipsed by underrated Arsenal star who left
Thierry Henry. Dennis Bergkamp. Ian Wright. Nicolas Anelka. He may have only been at Highbury between 1997-1999, but Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes ex-teammate Anelka should go down as one of the club’s best ever strikers. Anelka became one of Europe’s most exciting forwards during his short stay at ArsenalPA Henry was brought in to replace Anelka – leaving the club as their all-time record scorerGetty The 45-year-old, who Keown claims would have become the club’s top scorer, arrived in north London at just 17 from Paris Saint-Germain and quickly became a firm fan favourite. After limited opportunities in the 1996/97 term, he became a regular starter the following campaign to help his side complete a historic double. He banged in nine goals in all competitions from 40 appearances – scoring Arsenal‘s second in the 2-0 FA Cup final victory over Newcastle. His stunning form saw Arsenal offload then-record scorer Ian Wright to West Ham in 1999 with Anelka seen as the future of the club. Anelka, who once embarrassed Tony Adams in training, thrived as Arsenal’s main man – firing in 17 top-flight goals from 35 matches to see him miss out on the Golden Boot by just one strike. The 1998/99 campaign proved to be his final year at Arsenal, with Real Madrid snapping him up in a £22.3million deal. While fans – and his teammates were left gutted by his departure – it turned out to be arguably the best piece of business in the club’s history. With that money, Arsenal brought in Henry from Juventus for £11m, with £10m then being spent on building their London Colney training ground. Henry would go on to become Arsenal’s all-time top scorer ahead of Wright – chipping in with 228 goals across two spells. While many consider Henry to be the Premier League’s greatest player of all time, Keown believes that Anelka would have been spoken in the same breath had he stayed at Arsenal. Anelka helped the Gunners lift their first Premier League title in 1998Alamy The Frenchman is still thought fondly of today despite his premature exit Speaking to talkSPORT.com, Keown was pressed as to whether Anelka could have eclipsed the achievements of Henry in north London should he have stayed for longer. And it’s safe to say that the ex-defender believes that the sky was the limit for the Frenchman at Highbury. He remarked: “Definitely. Without a doubt. Whatever it was that Thierry Henry achieved. “And they were big things, he was an incredible striker, Anelka had that gift as well – that pace. “He just wanted to go on a different journey, he wasn’t really that patient. I think his family around him wanted to fast-track his career. “He ended up at Real Madrid [1999-2000], Chelsea [2008-2012] and Liverpool [2001-2002]. I was really surprised when Liverpool let him go [failed to turn loan from PSG into permanent stay]. Keown believes Anelka could have left a better legacy at Arsenal than HenryGetty Images “It was almost a relief to see the back of him out of the Premier League! “Because for anyone who has played against him, he was an incredible talent, so naturally gifted. “But I think he probably could have stayed at Arsenal, and everything that Henry did… we’ll never know of course (if he would have broken his records). “But it would have been lovely to have seen them both together, what a sight that would have been.” He continued: “I just thought he was misunderstood, you just think about how young he was. “He was 17-years of age when he came to a foreign country, I tried to put myself in his shoes where he didn’t really speak that much [English]. “His English now is amazing, but at that point it wasn’t, whereas a lot of the other guys who followed, they seemed to pick up the language very quickly. “Maybe he was sensitive, but I’ve not seen a 17-year-old with the talent he had. “I trained with all these guys, Ian Wright, [Dennis] Bergkamp, Henry. “Anelka sits up alongside those guys, he doesn’t get talked about enough. “Let me tell you, he wasn’t in their shadow, he was a remarkable talent.” It speaks volumes that despite his premature departure – and the player’s prime not spent at the club – he remains a popular figure amongst the Arsenal faithful. Anelka scored in the 1998 Community Shield win over Manchester United That’s an even more impressive feat considering he played for Arsenal’s Premier League title rivals in Liverpool, Manchester City [2002-2005] and Chelsea – as well as Bolton and West Brom in England. In a club poll, Anelka was ranked as the 29th greatest Gunner of all time. And there can be no arguing that had he stayed on for longer, he could very well have ended up in the number one spot.
Thierry Henry. Dennis Bergkamp. Ian Wright. Nicolas Anelka.
He may have only been at Highbury between 1997-1999, but Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes ex-teammate Anelka should go down as one of the club’s best ever strikers.
The 45-year-old, who Keown claims would have become the club’s top scorer, arrived in north London at just 17 from Paris Saint-Germain and quickly became a firm fan favourite.
After limited opportunities in the 1996/97 term, he became a regular starter the following campaign to help his side complete a historic double.
He banged in nine goals in all competitions from 40 appearances – scoring Arsenal‘s second in the 2-0 FA Cup final victory over Newcastle.
His stunning form saw Arsenal offload then-record scorer Ian Wright to West Ham in 1999 with Anelka seen as the future of the club.
Anelka, who once embarrassed Tony Adams in training, thrived as Arsenal’s main man – firing in 17 top-flight goals from 35 matches to see him miss out on the Golden Boot by just one strike.
The 1998/99 campaign proved to be his final year at Arsenal, with Real Madrid snapping him up in a £22.3million deal.
While fans – and his teammates were left gutted by his departure – it turned out to be arguably the best piece of business in the club’s history.
With that money, Arsenal brought in Henry from Juventus for £11m, with £10m then being spent on building their London Colney training ground.
Henry would go on to become Arsenal’s all-time top scorer ahead of Wright – chipping in with 228 goals across two spells.
While many consider Henry to be the Premier League’s greatest player of all time, Keown believes that Anelka would have been spoken in the same breath had he stayed at Arsenal.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com, Keown was pressed as to whether Anelka could have eclipsed the achievements of Henry in north London should he have stayed for longer.
And it’s safe to say that the ex-defender believes that the sky was the limit for the Frenchman at Highbury.
He remarked: “Definitely. Without a doubt. Whatever it was that Thierry Henry achieved.
“And they were big things, he was an incredible striker, Anelka had that gift as well – that pace.
“He just wanted to go on a different journey, he wasn’t really that patient. I think his family around him wanted to fast-track his career.
“He ended up at Real Madrid [1999-2000], Chelsea [2008-2012] and Liverpool [2001-2002]. I was really surprised when Liverpool let him go [failed to turn loan from PSG into permanent stay].
“It was almost a relief to see the back of him out of the Premier League!
“Because for anyone who has played against him, he was an incredible talent, so naturally gifted.
“But I think he probably could have stayed at Arsenal, and everything that Henry did… we’ll never know of course (if he would have broken his records).
“But it would have been lovely to have seen them both together, what a sight that would have been.”
He continued: “I just thought he was misunderstood, you just think about how young he was.
“He was 17-years of age when he came to a foreign country, I tried to put myself in his shoes where he didn’t really speak that much [English].
“His English now is amazing, but at that point it wasn’t, whereas a lot of the other guys who followed, they seemed to pick up the language very quickly.
“Maybe he was sensitive, but I’ve not seen a 17-year-old with the talent he had.
“I trained with all these guys, Ian Wright, [Dennis] Bergkamp, Henry.
“Anelka sits up alongside those guys, he doesn’t get talked about enough.
“Let me tell you, he wasn’t in their shadow, he was a remarkable talent.”
It speaks volumes that despite his premature departure – and the player’s prime not spent at the club – he remains a popular figure amongst the Arsenal faithful.
That’s an even more impressive feat considering he played for Arsenal’s Premier League title rivals in Liverpool, Manchester City [2002-2005] and Chelsea – as well as Bolton and West Brom in England.
In a club poll, Anelka was ranked as the 29th greatest Gunner of all time.
And there can be no arguing that had he stayed on for longer, he could very well have ended up in the number one spot.
