Arsene Wenger regrets allowing Nicolas Anelka to join Chelsea

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that he may have made a mistake not re-signing Nicolas Anelka in January 2008 – when the Frenchman instead signed for Chelsea.

The Frenchman told The Tuesday Club Podcast: “Maybe (it was the wrong decision).

“He wanted to come back. Maybe it was a mistake. I wanted to give the signal to the players that once you left the club there is no way back. I

“I felt that they would then have a hesitation to leave. I didn’t give them the feeling of ‘ok I go somewhere else, I try it and if it doesn’t work I come back’.

“That’s why I didn’t do it and overall maybe I should have done it. Nicolas still scored in 125 games overall in the Premier League I think, something like that, so he could have helped us.”