When Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain face off in the Champions League final on Saturday, it could bring back some mixed memories for Nicolas Anelka. The French striker moved between the two clubs as a teenager and has reflected on that period of his career.
Anelka, 47, was just a teenager when he broke into the PSG first team in the 90s. He scored his first league goal at the age of 17 but left just a few months later, joining Arsenal just a few months into Arsene Wenger’s tenure as manager.
He moved to England amid frustration at a lack of minutes in his home country, seemingly believing he needed to leave France for that to change, but lasted just over two years in North London before Real Madrid came calling. The Premier League champion reflected on his early moves during Netflix documentary ‘Anelka: Misunderstood’ and admitted to some regrets.
Part of that came as a consequence of leaving a welcoming Arsenal environment for greater scrutiny in Madrid after his £22m switch. After scoring 17 league goals in what would prove to be his final Arsenal season, be managed just two during a single year in La Liga before returning to PSG.
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“I understood what it meant to be a star when I arrived at Real Madrid, and I hated it,” Anelka said. “After being greeted at the airport by fans and journalists, I thought: ‘What am I doing here? This is too hard.’ It was the beginning of a nightmare.”
He continued: “I felt a lot of pressure from the start. Every day in the Spanish press there was an article or a photo about me.
“I would have liked to score more, but I didn’t have the chance, and I didn’t measure up. Too many things happened. In part, I do regret it. Players always want to play for Real Madrid. There were too many sacrifices to make and I was too young to understand.”
Reflecting on that Arsenal exit, he told the Sunday Mirror in a separate interview: “I can go over things in my head, but so many things were said, so many things left unsaid. But the relationship with Arsenal became difficult and just pushed me through the door.
“At the time I was accused of all sorts of things, a great deal that wasn’t true. But that is in the past, and it’s a past I’d rather leave behind than talk about.”
View 2 ImagesAnelka was left with regrets after trading Arsenal for Real Madrid(Image: ERIC CABANIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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The striker still managed to carve out an impressive career, the bulk of it in the Premier League. Only 18 players in the competition’s history can better his return of 125 goals, while he won a second league title with Chelsea – some 12 years after his first in Arsenal red.
He couldn’t quite repeat the trick in Europe. Anelka started the 2000 Champions League final as Real Madrid beat Valencia at the Stade de France but missed decisively in the penalty shoot-out eight years later as Chelsea lost to Manchester United in Moscow.
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Until last year, neither Arsenal or PSG could call themselves champions of Europe. Now, though, Anelka’s second club are out to prevent his first employers going back-to-back after their win over Inter Milan in 2025.
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