Martin Keown claims Nicolas Anelka could have done what Thierry Henry did at Arsenal

Arsenal’s great Martin Keown identified Nicolas Anelka as the best 17-year-old to watch them play and claimed the Frenchman could have accomplished everything Thierry Henry did, had he stayed at Highbury.

Keown was with the Gunners when Anelka signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 1997 for £ 500,000 under Arsene Wenger.

Then, a senior player, the center-back saw Anelka enter the first team and win the golden boot in the 1998/99 season.

However, Anelka’s time with Arsenal lasted just two years after Real Madrid submitted a £ 22.3 million offer to lure the striker to Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 1999.

By then, Anelka had already made a strong impression on Keown, who he believes could have accomplished everything that Premier League legend Henry would have done had he stayed longer at the club.

“The best 17 year old I’ve ever seen,” Keown told BT Sport. “In fact, everything [Thierry] Henry did it, I think Anelka could have done for Arsenal if he wanted to stay.

“But you can’t stop that player, once he’s finished he’s fast, no recoil, great control, he’s away.”

“He used to do it in training every time he saw him, he loved that position.”

While Henry forged his legacy with Arsenal and Barcelona, ​​Anelka moved through Europe from club to club. He won the Champions League with Real Madrid the season after leaving Arsenal, and admitted in 2008 that he moved to Los Blancos because he did not feel appreciated in North London.