‘I want to retire at Arsenal,This is where I belong’: Former Arsenal player who left EMIRATE because of Small Issues He had with the coach is now pleading with the board directors to approve His Return
Arsenal legend admitted he wanted to retire at the club but knew his time was up after Arsene Wenger signed Nicolas Anelka.
Wright became the Gunners’ all-time record goalscorer after bagging an incredible 185 goals in 288 games across seven years for the club, having joined for £2.5million from Crystal Palace. The Woolwich-born marksman bested Cliff Bastin’s previous goal record of 178.
However, Wright’s legacy at the club wasn’t enough to see him finish his playing days at Highbury, as Wenger signed 17-year-old Anelka for £500,000 from PSG in February 1997.
“I wanted to retire at Arsenal and when he came, I knew that I was going to be leaving soon. When I started to see him play, I couldn’t find many faults with him at 17.”
Wright and Anelka played together for just half a season, but it was a campaign to remember as the Gunners won the double in the perfect send off for Wright as he lifted the Premier League for the one and only time.
The 33-time England international joined West Ham in 1998 – where he infamously booted in the officials’ changing room doors after being sent off at Leeds. He later had short spells at Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley before retiring in 2000. Anelka, meanwhile, was already preparing to return to PSG at the beginning of his journeyman career.
Anelka played just 18 months for Arsenal before making a £22.3m move to Real Madrid in 1999, returning to the Parc des Princes just a year later for £22m – having left for £500k just over three years earlier.
The Frenchman won the Champions League with Los Blancos, and the Premier League once and FA Cup a further two times at Chelsea between 2008 and 2012. He retired in 2015 at Mumbai City after playing in India and China in his swansong years.
