When Nicolas Anelka finally completed his protracted transfer from Arsenal to Real Madrid in August 1999 it represented a massive profit for the Highbury club. The teenage Anelka had arrived in London in March 1997 for a fee of £500, 000 and just over two years later he was on his way to Spain for a staggering £22, 300, 000. As ever, Arsene Wenger spent the money wisely and replaced the moody striker with fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry for less than half the fee received from Madrid. Anelka had been groomed by Wenger as the man to succeed the legendary Ian Wright and it was towards the end of the 1997/98 season that he assumed the great man's mantle. Anelka did not set the world alight in goalscoring terms - he scored six goals in 26 League appearances (including ten as a sub) - but with his blinding pace he posed a real threat to the best of defences. Arsenal took the Premiership title thanks to a ten match winning streak whilst the F.A. Cup was added shortly after with the Frenchman scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win over Newcastle. Anelka's last season at Highbury saw him realising the potential he had shown the previous campaign and he netted 17 goals in 35 League games. Included in that haul was a hat-trick in a 5-0 romp against Leicester City at Highbury which was part of a run of six goals in four games for the lightning-quick striker. The unhappy Frenchman was then off to Spain in the summer before moving onto his first club Paris St. Germain a year later. (DS)