Legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger changed the shape of football in England with his arrival in the 1990s, leaving his mark on the current landscape.
The Frenchman joined the Gunners in 1996, making plenty of shrewd signings before leading the team to success.
Arsenal won plenty of trophies during his two decades in North London, landing several Premier League titles and FA Cup triumphs.
While there was plenty to remember Arsene Wenger for, his early transfer business ranks among the top skills that fans will recall.
One such move was so big for Arsenal that it changed the course of French football history with a total rule change.
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Arsene Wenger caused outrage in France with the Nicolas Anelka to Arsenal transfer
Arsene Wenger stunned many in 1997 when he swooped to sign Nicolas Anelka from Paris Saint-Germain in a surprise move.
The Gunners looked to land the young forward on a free transfer, but ended up paying around £500,000 to sign him in February, before he was set to leave on a free.
That sparked outrage in France, as Anelka was unable to sign for another French club, due to rules about signing a free agent before the age of 24.
As a highly-rated 17-year-old, the forward could, however, sign for clubs abroad and did so with Arsenal.
There was frustration from the French league’s president, Noel Le Graet, who tried to block such a deal by pleading to UEFA: “I will be recommending to the French football federation that they should stop this move going ahead.”
Wenger, however, wasn’t buying it as he simply said: “The rules in France are that players cannot move freely between clubs in their own country until they are 24, but there is no doubt that we are allowed to sign him.
“We can do this six months before the end of his contract, and all we need is his father’s consent in writing because of the player’s age.
“We have that, and so I am not worried about what reports from France might say.”
Arsenal got the deal done sooner by landing Anelka for £500,000 in February 1997, but it was thanks to that rule that they could convince PSG to sell him.
Just two years later, he ended up moving to Real Madrid in a deal worth around £22 million in total.
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France transfer and contract rules changed after Arsenal deal
Shortly after the deal for Anelka went through, French football underwent a rule change that stopped such a problem from occurring again.
Teams were able to sign players under 24 on a Bosman deal once again, which could’ve prevented the Arsenal deal with Anelka from going the way it did.
That’s only if the striker wanted to stay in France, of course, with other clubs able to make an approach to keep him in the league.
Arsenal still could’ve signed Anelka, but it could’ve been more complicated in a rule that has since been changed.
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