Ian Wright says £22m player Arsenal sold was even better than Thierry Henry 

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Arsenal legend Ian Wright has claimed that Nicolas Anelka was a bigger talent than Thierry Henry when he first came to North London.

The Frenchman only spent two years as a Gunner, but he made his mark during that period. His performances were sensational, and Wright rates him highly even to this day.

Here’s what the Arsenal icon said about Anelka.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright says Nicolas Anelka was better than Thierry Henry

Arsenal signed Nicolas Anelka from Paris Saint-Germain in 1997 for a fee of just £500,000.

Nobody really knew who he was at the time, but Arsene Wenger‘s eye for talent paid off once again, and the Frenchman became a huge hit in the Premier League for us.

In two seasons as a Gunner, Anelka played 87 times for us, scored 28 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions. This was all when he was still a teenager.

Everyone expected Anelka to become a superstar at Arsenal, but in 1999, he became desperate to leave. He almost forced himself out, and we had no choice but to sell him for a fee of around £22 million.

Speaking about Anelka, Wright claimed that he was a better raw talent than Thierry Henry ever was.

He said on FIVE: “When Anelka came and I saw him in the first session, I just started to pack up.

“Bro, I’ve never seen anything like it, no one that quick. You speak to Thierry, Thierry was saying that when they were in Clairefontaine, he was the one they were all saying “oh my god!.” Because he is amazing. You saw that, when he came in at 17, you saw that!”

Rio Ferdinand then asked him who was better as a young talent – Henry or Anelka.

Wright quickly replied: “Anelka! Thierry would probably say that himself. If we’re talking about raw at that age, once I saw Anelka, I knew it was over!”

The difference between Henry and Anelka

Thierry Henry is the greatest player to ever play in the Premier League.

The Frenchman was unstoppable during his time at Arsenal, and he’s one of the biggest reasons why we won so many trophies back then,

Anelka could’ve easily done it all too. But, even though he was a bigger talent than Henry, he did not have the legendary Frenchman’s mentality.

That’s the reason why his career went the way that it did, while Henry became a legend of the game.