Wenger - Nic a top gun

Anelka: Wenger praise

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Arsene Wenger has hailed former Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka, believing he is back at the level he belongs with Chelsea.

The Frenchman proved a massive success during his time with the Gunners after moving from Paris St Germain as a 17-year-old back in February 1997.

He left for Real Madrid in a £22million move during the summer of 1999 amid reports he had become unsettled and demanded higher wages - earning him the nickname 'Le Sulk' from some fans.

Since then, he has failed to stay at one club for too long, including Liverpool, Manchester City and Bolton, before moving to Chelsea in a £15m switch in 2008.

Deadly partnership

He has since formed a deadly partnership with Didier Drogba and Wenger spoke in glowing terms of his former protégé ahead of the two sides meeting at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, in a game being shown live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1.

Wenger said: "I was disappointed when he wanted to leave us, but the rest is down to him.

"He has not always been at the clubs where his talent deserves him to be, but in the end the talent told, now he is more mature.

"He was out of the French national team for a long time and out of the top level clubs, but now he is where he belongs.

Deserved credit

"Slowly, Anelka is getting the credit that he deserves at Chelsea."

Wenger added he always remained in contact with the striker and held thoughts of bringing him back to Arsenal.

"I always kept in touch with Nicolas because I like him and I still believe deeply that he has never lost touch with Arsenal," he said.

"I believe he still loves this club.

"I always considered bringing him back at some stage, but it never worked because we always had strikers, and I was never a big fan of bringing old players back."