Anelka: I still love Arsenal
Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has revealed he did not celebrate his goal against former club Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium because he still loves the Gunners.
The Blues bounced back from their last-gasp Champions League semi-final exit to Barcelona by humiliating Arsene Wenger's side 4-1 in their own back yard, the North London outfit's heaviest defeat at their new stadium.
Anelka netted Chelsea's second of the game with a rasping long-range effort, his 18th league goal for the club since arriving from Bolton in January 2008.
However, the Frenchman chose not to celebrate his vicious strike, and has since revealed he did not wish to insult the fans of his former club, having made 65 league appearances for Arsenal from 1997-99 - scoring 23 times - before joining Real Madrid for £23 million.
“I still love the club, the people, even if they think I don’t love them,” he told Chelsea’s official website.
“It is normal I don’t celebrate."
Only a month ago, Anelka was revealing he still had a soft spot for another of his former English clubs, Liverpool, ahead of the Reds' Champions League quarter-final tie with Chelsea.
The striker spent five months on loan at Anfield in early 2002 from Paris Saint-Germain, scoring four league goals in 17 appearances.
“I played my best football at Liverpool. I played in my best position," he said.
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NEWS: Anelka reveals soft spot for Liverpool
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.