‘I wished to retire at Arsenal – however when star got here in I knew I used to be leaving’
Arsenal legend Ian Wright admitted he wished to retire on the membership however knew his time was up after Arsene Wenger signed Nicolas Anelka.
Wright grew to become the Gunners’ all-time file goalscorer after bagging an unimaginable 185 targets in 288 video games throughout seven years for the membership, having joined for £2.5million from Crystal Palace. The Woolwich-born marksman bested Cliff Bastin’s earlier objective file of 178.
However, Wright’s legacy on the membership wasn’t sufficient to see him end his taking part in days at Highbury, as Wenger signed 17-year-old Anelka for £500,000 from PSG in February 1997.
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Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, in affiliation with Sky Bet, Wright stated: “[On the first moment he started thinking about retirement] When Nicolas Anelka started playing, it was like watching Ronaldo turn up. I saw that and I was 31 or 32, I knew my time was short, and I could see that he was unbelievable.
“I wanted to retire at Arsenal and when he came, I knew that I was going to be leaving soon. When I started to see him play, I couldn’t find many faults with him at 17.”
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(Image: PA)
Wright and Anelka performed collectively for simply half a season, however it was a marketing campaign to recollect because the Gunners gained the double within the excellent ship off for Wright as he lifted the Premier League for the one and solely time.
The 33-time England worldwide joined West Ham in 1998 – the place he infamously booted within the officers’ altering room doorways after being despatched off at Leeds. He later had brief spells at Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley earlier than retiring in 2000. Anelka, in the meantime, was already getting ready to return to PSG initially of his journeyman profession.
(Image: ExpressStar)
Anelka performed simply 18 months for Arsenal earlier than making a £22.3m transfer to Real Madrid in 1999, returning to the Parc des Princes only a yr later for £22m – having left for £500k simply over three years earlier.
The Frenchman gained the Champions League with Los Blancos, and the Premier League as soon as and FA Cup an extra two occasions at Chelsea between 2008 and 2012. He retired in 2015 at Mumbai City after taking part in in India and China in his swansong years.