"Could’ve done it" - Martin Keown claims former Chelsea star could have been as good as Thierry Henry if he stayed at Arsenal

Martin Keown believes that former Chelsea star Nicolas Anelka could have achieved the heights of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. The ex-Liverpool attacker joined the north London side in 1997 but only remained there till the summer of 1999.

Anelka made 90 appearances across competitions for Arsenal, bagging 28 goals and 14 assists. He also won the Premier League and the FA Cup once each, among other honors with the club.

Speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, Keown said (via The Boot Room):

“Some of the talent we had. I looked back when I was putting this book together. Henry was just an incredible talent. Anelka, everything Henry did at Arsenal, Anelka could’ve done it at Arsenal if he stayed. I’ve never seen a teenager like it."

Anelka ended up moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 1999 for a reported fee of €34.5 million. He went on to play for multiple top sides around Europe, including the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, and Juventus, among others.

While he was a top player, one will never know if he would have hit Henry's heights, someone considered to be among the best-ever Gunners players. The ex-Barcelona man made 377 appearances across competitions, bagging 228 goals and 93 assists.

Henry won the Premier League trophy on two occasions and the FA Cup thrice, among other honors.

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Jose Mourinho wishes Arsenal and Chelsea target joins Real Madrid

Nico Williams

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has urged Arsenal and Chelsea target Nico Williams to join Real Madrid in the future. The Portuguese coach's side are preparing to face Williams' Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday (December 11) in the Europa League.

While attending the pre-match press conference for the aforementioned game, Mourinho sang praises of the Spain international. He told reporters in the room (via Metro):

"Nico is wonderful. At the last Euros, everyone was talking about Yamal, Yamal, Yamal… who is obviously another fantastic young player."

"But personally, I prefer Nico; he is a fantastic footballer. One cannot think that a Turkish club could sign him; I hope he ends up at Real Madrid."

Williams hasn't hit the heights of last season yet, having scored two goals and five assists in 20 appearances across competitions this year. Last season, he scored eight goals and bagged 19 assists in 37 appearances in all competitions.

Williams has also become an integral part of his national team's setup. He's registered 24 caps to date and has netted on four occasions.