Ian Wright was left wondering what might have been at Arsenal, after Arsene Wenger dropped a revelation on the Wrighty’s House podcast this morning.
What’s the story?
Wright got the chance to quiz Wenger on his time at Arsenal on his podcast, and there was one question which stood out in his mind.
The Gunners legend was quick to ask whether Wenger’s initial plan had been to partner Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka in attack at Highbury back in 1999.
Henry was signed in the same summer that Anelka left by Wenger, but Arsenal never really planned for the enigmatic Frenchman’s departure.
Anelka’s move away from North London was swift and caused a great degree of controversy at the time.
Henry ultimately far surpassed Anelka’s achievements with Arsenal, and proved to be a wonderful replacement, but it turns out things could have been very different.
“You know what I wanted to ask you, because it was something that I was always really quite disappointed it never happened – with Anelka and Henry,” Wright said.
“Did you always have Henry to come there, because Anelka just left us, was your plan to have those two together?”
“Yeah,” Wenger responded.
“Would Anelka have played nine then, and Henry have stuck there [out wide]?”
“Yeah, exactly that!”
“I knew it you know, I just knew it. My head is blown.”
“We had Bergkamp as well you know,” Wenger added, with a laugh.
The dream partnership
If Arsenal had managed to partner Henry, Anelka and Dennis Bergkamp together in attack then it really would have been a defender’s worst nightmare.
Anelka had netted 17 goals in 35 games in his final season with the Gunners before Real Madrid came calling.
It is a move he has since gone on to say that he regrets taking.
Henry, meanwhile, became Arsenal’s record scorer and arguably goes down as the best player in the Premier League of all time.
The Gunners, of course, went on to go a full league season unbeaten just five years after Anelka left, so it is hardly like his move away starved them of success.
But Anelka, Henry and Bergkamp really could have taken apart the Premier League if they all linked up, and Arsenal fans will almost certainly feel some disappointment they never got to see the trio working in unison.
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