Given his varied and often controversial career, it is easy to forget that mercurial French forward Nicolas Anelka once had a spell on Merseyside. In December 2001, and with Gerard Houllier still in convalescence following his heart problems, Liverpool took Anelka on loan from Paris St. Germain to fill the number 9 shirt vacated by the recently departed Robbie Fowler. Houllier had known Anelka from his time in the French youth setup, and the striker, who had left Arsenal for Real Madrid for a staggering £23m just over two years previously, became part of an impressive looking array of forwards at the club, alongside Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Jari Litmanen. Anelka's debut came on Boxing Day at Villa Park, replacing Litmanen in time to see Vladimir Smicer score a late winner, and he didn't have to wait long for his first Liverpool goal, firing in the third and final goal in an FA Cup Third Round win over Birmingham at Anfield. The Reds were chasing the championship, and were in fine form as winter turned to spring, winning at Old Trafford before goal-filled successes at Elland Road and Portman Road. Nicolas was beginning to win the fans over, helped by a Merseyside derby equaliser in front of the Kop and the opening goal in a win at Fulham, before producing arguably his best display in a Liverpool shirt as part of a three-man attack with Heskey and Owen in a 3-0 win over Newcastle. Smicer's last gasp winner against Chelsea in late March put Liverpool top of the league, but Anelka's former team-mates at Arsenal were proving unstoppable. Despite the Reds winning nine of their last ten games, the Gunners clinched the title with a win at Old Trafford. Anelka scored in Liverpool's last two games of the season, a 4-3 win over Blackburn and 5-0 success against Ipswich, but they would prove to be his final appearances for the club. Houllier had the option of making Anelka's move from PSG permanent, something most Liverpool fans wanted to see, but the manager had turned his attentions to Lens' Senegalese forward El-Hadji Diouf, and wrapped up a £10m move during the 2002 World Cup. Nicolas was sent back to Paris, but was soon to return to the North-West of England with Manchester City. (Mark Jones)