da wazamba： Fans of the Premier League have witnessed some of football’s greatest ever forwards over the years. Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – the list goes on and on. Indeed, many of these players have carved legacies for themselves that will extend far beyond that of a stellar goalscoring record. In fact, a number of them have sewn themselves into the fabric of English football forever – and with good reason.
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But for every Premier League great, more than a few have slipped through the net. They might not be as charismatic, they might not have a dominant media presence, or indeed they simply might not be of the same quality – but the contributions that so many forgotten Premier League heroes made to the English top flight is something that cannot be ignored. Perhaps the most significant victim of this issue is Nicolas Anelka.
Having started out his career in his native France, Anelka quickly moved to Arsenal in 1997 – where he enjoyed a fair amount of success under Arsene Wenger. Whilst at first he struggled for game time, he quickly made a name for himself at Highbury, finishing the 1998/99 season as Arsenal’s highest goalscorer. Winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Charity Shield during his initial three-year stay in London, it is difficult to argue against Anelka’s spell with the Gunners being a success.
Perhaps the reason as to why Anelka is rarely remembered fondly for his role during this period is due to the nature of his departure. Having had the Arsenal fans turn on him for a perceived lack of interest and work rate, the Frenchman eventually moved to Real Madrid – leaving the Arsenal faithful questioning what could have been.
What followed was a nomadic, albeit successful, few years around Europe – with spells with Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Manchester City and Fenerbahce before the striker eventually settled in Bolton in 2006.
In the four years that he spent at Liverpool and Manchester City respectively, Anelka managed to bag a fairly solid 41 league goals – before picking up a further 21 during a two-year stint with Bolton. Indeed, by reflecting on his various spells in the Premier League, there can be no doubting the quality of the Frenchman. By this point, he had picked up nearly 100 goals in the English top flight, though he failed to find a club where he was truly able to flourish.
This opportunity finally came in 2008, when Anelka finally got the move that he had craved – a switch to Chelsea. This period would prove to be his most successful, with a Premier League title, two FA Cups and a Community Shield – alongside a Champions League runners-up medal. Throughout the four-year stint that he had back in London, Anelka became a vital member of the Chelsea first team – fitting into the side wherever he was asked and regularly putting in stellar performances. He scored 38 Premier League goals all told, an impressive record when you consider that he was often a square peg in a round hole at Stamford Bridge.
Certainly, Anelka was rarely the leading man in the Premier League. Even at Chelsea, the dominant nature of Didier Drogba often meant that Anelka had to play second-fiddle – but that didn’t stop him from doing what he did best. This certainly hasn’t helped his case long-term, whilst the controversial nature of his departures from Arsenal, Chelsea and West Brom also left a sour taste in the mouths of fans – which has certainly had an impact on the way that he is remembered.
Today, Anelka celebrates his 38th birthday, and retrospectively, he – and football fans in general – can look back on his time in the Premier League as an undeniably successful spell. Whether it be through goals, trophies, or indeed performances in general, Anelka can hold his head high knowing that whilst he was rarely a star man in the Premier League, he was always a vital cog in an often successful Premier League machine.
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