Gunner Net - Articles - Super Nic Anelka

Is the boy that never smiles more talented that both Ronaldo and Owen?

Last year it was about this time that Anelka was beginning his run in the first team, due to an injury to Ian Wright. We saw his pace, at times we saw his great skill, but we also saw a seeming inability to finish from "easy" positions. Indeed his first goal for Arsenal took some time in coming, but he picked the right place. He scored the first goal in our 3-2 triumph over Manchester United in the '97/'98 season.

The media, when commenting on Anelka's play, insisted he was not a finisher, and that he could only score a few great goals a season. They wondered why Paris St. Germane kicked up such a fuss over the way Wenger acquired him. It was certainly too early to judge a player who was at the time only 18.

Over the summer there was much talk of Anelka being unhappy and that he was set to leave. This would probably have been the case if either Wright had stayed or Kluivert had arrived, but when neither of these happened Anelka ended speculation by signing a five-year deal.

The start of the '98/'99 season saw Anelka a first team regular, alongside Bergkamp up front. This was a clear confidence boost as, although he was again criticised for lack of finishing, goals did begin happening on a regular basis. Anelka showed flashes of incredible skill and scored some wonderful goals but he did miss a lot of opportunities. Wenger either could not find a replacement or he kept faith in his £500k acquisition.

The season went on, Anelka went on scoring and Arsenal relied heavily for goals on him. He was clearly more confident than the raw 17-year-old that had arrived at the end of the '96/ '97 was season.

Anelka has continued to improve and this was underlined by his recent two (should have been three) goals against England and his hat trick against Leicester. He now shows the pace, power and finishing abilities of a world class striker. There is one thing he very rarely shows though. Your 18 and you just score the winning goal in the cup final; it would cause most to smile, not Nicolas.

He seems to never be satisfied with his performance however many he has scored he always thinks he should have done more. This is the nature of him; he is very shy and recently said "I have no friend's in London". He lives with his brother and cousin and spends most of his free time playing on his Sony Playstation.

Wenger recently said he would not swap Anelka with either Owen or Ronaldo, and I think he is telling the truth. The pace is certainly close if not more that Owen, and is far more skilful, strong and powerful.

Wenger rubbished a reported £20M bid from Juventus but both Dein and Wenger said that any bid for the youngster would be refused. Real Madrid have also reportedly shown an interest.

One thing is for sure; Anelka is another example of Arsene Wenger's great ability to see talent in players before they have to prove it is there, a star maker not buyer. French team-mates have hailed him as "better than Owen", and Ian Wright always wanted to be on the five-aside teams with Nic because of his blistering pace. These compliments prove that Anelka has yet to show his full potential.

While Anelka continues to progress, and I'm sure he will, he can fulfil his ambition to be the best player in the world. Maybe this is Anelka's target before he can let out a smile. Let's hope he finds some friends so he stays at Arsenal beyond his 5-year contract.

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