August 1, 1999: Arsenal Sell Their Striker of the Future -- and Make Their Future

August 1, 1999: Arsenal Football Club sell Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid.

They had little choice but to sell him, in spite of all the promise he had. So they made the best deal they could. It turned out to be the best deal in team history.

Nicolas Sébastien Anelka was born on March 14, 1979, in the Paris suburb of Le Chesnay, France. A son of immigrants to France from their Caribbean island colony of Martinique, the forward played for 12 different soccer teams in 7 different countries, but always wore out his welcome, earning him the nickname "Le Sulk."

In 1997, Arsène Wenger, a native of Strasbourg, France, and manager of North London team Arsenal, purchased Anelka's contract from hometown team Paris Saint-German for £500,000. In 1998, not yet 19 years old, he helped Arsenal win the Premier League title, and scored in the FA Cup Final to complete "The Double."

In 1999, he looked like the next great soccer superstar, but he demanded a big contract, and said that if he didn't get it at Arsenal, he'd put in a transfer request. Arsenal called his bluff, selling him to Spanish giants Real Madrid for £22.3 million.

It was the greatest deal in Arsenal history: Not only did the Gunners get 44 times their money back, but that purchase price paid for their new training ground, London Colney, costing them £10 million; and for the man who actually became the next great Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry. They bought him from Turin, Italy giants Juventus 2 days after selling Anelka, costing them £11 million. He became their all-time leading goalscorer, and helped them win 2 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, and reach the Final of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup (now the UEFA Europa League).

Anelka helped Real Madrid win the UEFA Champions League in 2000, but, being the most imperious club in the sport, they refused to put up with him, either. He helped Istanbul team Fenerbahçe win the Turkish Süper Lig in 2005, then returned to London, helping Chelsea win the 2009 FA Cup, and the League and Cup Double in 2010. But they couldn't put up with him, and sold him to Juventus, whom he helped win Italy's Serie A in 2013. He was even a player-coach in China, with Shanghai Shenhua, and in India, with Mumbai City, his last team as a player.

With Chelsea

He wasn't much better for his country. He was not called up for the 1998 World Cup, which France won. He did help them win the UEFA European Championship in 2000 and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001, and to reach the Final of the 2006 World Cup. But he was part of France's disastrous crashes out of the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, and was never selected again.

Thierry Henry, remembered as "The King," is honored with a statue outside Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal since 2006-07, his last season with the team. In a way, the stadium is also his monument, as much as it is that of Arsène Wenger, or Dennis Bergkamp, or Tony Adams, or any other Arsenal legend.

Nicolas Anelka, remembered as "Le Sulk," has no statue. His monument is the Arsenal Training Centre at London Colney, where young players at the club are taught to be as talented as Anelka, and more mature.

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August 1, 1999 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Bret Saberhagen outpitched Orlando "El Duque" Hernández. Bernie Williams went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs, and Paul O'Neill went 3-for-4 with an RBI. But Derek Jeter went 0-for-5.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. In the top of the 13th inning, with the Mets out of pinch-hitters, pitcher Pat Mahomes had to bat for himself, and singled home the winning run. His son, Patrick Mahomes, became a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

For the Mets, Rickey Henderson went 0-for-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base. For the Cubs, Sammy Sosa went 0-for-6. I guess the steroids weren't working that day.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 2-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-1 at Riverfront Stadium (then named Cinergy Field) in Cincinnati. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire hit his 597th career home run. I guess his steroids were working that day.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-5 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 10-3 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBI. He never needed steroids.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 10-6 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at the new Safeco Field in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-2 with a walk. His streak over, Cal Ripken Jr. did not play.

May 16, 1998: The 2nd Arsenal Double

The famous "Back Four." Left to right: Lee Dixon,

Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn.

The trophies: The FA Cup, the Premier League Trophy,

and the FA Charity Shield.

May 16, 1998: Arsenal defeat Newcastle United, 2-0, to win the FA Cup at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Having already won the Premier League title, Arsenal thus win "The Double." It is their 2nd time doing so, after 1971.

Arsenal had last finished 1st in England's top flight in 1991, under the label of The Football League Division One. In 1992, the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League. The rise of Manchester United prevented their return to the top of the League.

But Arsène Wenger, the innovative Frenchman who managed Arsenal, had David Seaman in goal, with a big mustache, a long ponytail, and the safest pair of hands in England. He had the best back four in Europe: Right back Lee Dixon, centrebacks Tony Adams (also the team Captain) and Steve Bould, and left back Nigel Winterburn. His midfield was anchored by Senegal-born Patrick Vieira, who was about to help France win the World Cup. And up front was a Dutch genius named Dennis Bergkamp.

On March 14, 1998, trailing United by 9 points, they went to United's ground, Old Trafford, and a late goal by Dutch winger Marc Overmars gave them a victory that started a 12-game winning streak. On April 3, at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London, they beat Liverpool team Everton 4-0, and clinched the title.

They had won the Football Association Cup as recently as 1993, and got back into the Final. Their opponents would be Newcastle United, the pride of England's North-East, led by forward Alan Shearer, and manager by Liverpool FC playing legend Kenny Dalglish. Together, Shearer and "King Kenny" had led Lancashire team Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995. Now, they were trying to build another great team on Tyneside. And with Arsenal's superstar Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp unavailable due to injury, "The Toon" thought they had a chance.

That chance didn't last long. Overmars scored in the 23rd minute. That lead held until the 69th, when Nicolas Anelka, a black forward from France who had just turned 19, put the game away. Arsenal won, 2-0. Centreback Tony Adams raised the FA Cup for the 2nd time, having previously raised 3 League title trophies, a League Cup, and a European Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1999, Arsenal would finish just short of the League title, losing to United, and lose to United in the Semifinal of the FA Cup. Anelka had a great season, and wanted more money. So Wenger sold him to the richest team in the world, Spain's Real Madrid.

With the money he got for Anelka, he bought another French forward, Thierry Henry, who would become the team's all-time leading goalscorer; and build the team's new training ground at London Colney. So, despite only playing 2 seasons for Arsenal, Anelka turned out to be a key player in the team's history. Arsenal would win a 3rd "Double" in 2002, win the Cup again in 2003 and 2005, go unbeaten in winning the League in 2004, and reach the Final of the UEFA Champions League in 2006.

As for Newcastle, they reached the Final again in 1999, but lost to United. Dalglish and team management fell out, and Bobby Robson was named manager. He got the Geordies high enough in the League to qualify for the Champions League, but no major trophies. Through the 2021-22 season, Newcastle's last major trophy remains the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; their most recent FA Cup, 1955; and their most recent League title, 1927.

Shay Given, then 22, was Newcastle's goalkeeper in the 1998 FA Cup Final. In 2015, 17 years later, the native of Ireland's County Donegal would be in goal in the FA Cup Final again, for Birmingham team Aston Villa -- and, again, lost to Arsenal and Arsène Wenger.

UPDATE: In 2025, Newcastle United won the League Cup, beating Liverpool, and ending their major trophy drought at 56 years, and their domestic cup drought at 70 years.

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May 16, 1998, like most FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the team that would become the New York Red Bulls, beat their arch-rivals, the Washington club, D.C. United, 4-3 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

American football was out of season. There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

And there was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-77 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ramiro Mendoza outpitched former Yankee Bob Tewksbury. Derek Jeter went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. The next day, David Wells pitched a perfect game against the Twins.

* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Alberto Castillo hit a home run for the Mets. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. It took 3 pitchers to finish a 4-hit shutout: Steve Avery (5 innings), Rich Garces (2 2/3rds) and Tom Gordon (1 1/3rd). Damon Buford and Mo Vaugh hit home runs.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Wade Boggs went 2-for-4 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 10-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Sammy Sosa hit his 8th home run of the season. At the time, hardly anyone outside of the Chicago metropolitan area cared when Sosa hit one.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-6 with an RBI.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire hit his 16th home run of the season. He was on a pace for 65. Little did anyone know...

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Craig Biggio hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, wasting a good performance from Braves starter Greg Maddux.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). The Phils led 2-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, but an error by pitcher Mark Leiter allowed the tying run, and the winning run was driven in by a single by Greg Myers.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 9-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.