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Troy Deeney suggests striker Arsenal once sold for £22m is better than Eric Cantona
Troy Deeney has suggested that Nicolas Anelka – who Arsenal sold in 1999 – was better than Eric Cantona.
The 35-year-old made the claim on TikTok.
So, what did Troy Deeney say about Nicolas Anelka? Let’s take a look…
Troy Deeney suggests Nicolas Anelka was better than Eric Cantona
Well, Arsenal signed the man from Le Chesnay from PSG for just back in 1997.
Anelka then scored goals in 90 appearances for the Gunners – before Real Madrid signed him in a deal worth back in 1999.
The Frenchman enjoyed a tremendous career – shining during spells with Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool too – although many would argue that Cantona enjoyed the better career.
The man from Marseille won four Premier League titles across appearances with Manchester United – scoring 81 goals while also providing 62 assists – and has gone down in history as King Eric.
Nevertheless, Deeney believes Anelka was better than Cantona.

The striker Anelka as “massively underrated” and placed him at No.8 on a list of ten players, one ahead of Cantona who was put in the No.9 spot.
Nicolas Anelka should have stayed at Arsenal
Had Anelka remained with Arsene Wenger in north London, Deeney and others may have even placed him at No.1 on a list like this.
The 44-year-old famously became unsettled with life at Arsenal and chose to leave for Real Madrid, although things did not exactly go well in Spain with just goals in 33 appearances.
By that point, Wenger had replaced Anelka with Thierry Henry, and the rest is history.

Arsenal became one of England’s greatest ever sides with the iconic Titi leading the line, achieving a remarkable unbeaten campaign in the Premier League back in 2003/04.
In regards to Anelka, he never really hit the heights he found at Arsenal, and his career surely would have turned out to be even more successful if he continued to work with Wenger.