ANELKA SIGNING 'TOO GOOD TO TURN DOWN'
The striker continued the theme by stating that moving to Liverpool was something he 'jumped at' as he is reunited with Gerard Houllier, a coach he has worked with in the French national set-up.
Having fallen out of favour at first Arsenal, then Real Madrid and finally Paris Saint Germain, Anelka is certainly joining The Reds carrying a fair degree of 'baggage' but the player is looking to win himself a permanent deal with The Premiership outfit.
Anelka said: "I decided I wanted to leave Paris St Germain, and when I knew I had the opportunity to come to Liverpool I could not refuse.
"When I left Arsenal, I never said I did not like England. My problems were all in my head.
"In your career, you cannot be always at the top and sometimes things do not go as you want. You have to be strong mentally to overcome those things.
"Some things that happened at Madrid and Paris did not make it easier, but it is something that happens in many careers - not just mine.
"Now I hope to recover the level I was playing at earlier. Although this is only a loan, I hope I can make an impression and stay in Liverpool for a long time.
"The Premier league seems to be more suited to my qualities because, when I played at Arsenal, I was with players who could give me the ball quickly and let me use my pace.
"Liverpool have some outstanding players and I am particularly excited about the prospect of playing alongside Michael Owen."
Speaking about the double capture of Anelka and Milan Baros, assistant manager Phil Thompson said: "Gerard Houllier rang me on Friday and asked what I thought about signing Nicolas.
"I thought about it for a few seconds and told him I thought it was a great idea.
"Robbie Fowler left a few weeks ago and, although Milan has also joined us, he is a non-EC player and takes our quota up to five. We knew we needed someone else and, when the opportunity came to sign Nicolas, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
"Everybody knows that, when he played at Arsenal, he almost single-handedly won the title for them.
"That shows he can cope with the quality needed to play in The Premiership and, like Milan, we are delighted to have him here."
Baros added: "It was always my ambition to play in England and to achieve that ambition with a club like Liverpool is a dream."
