Nicolas Anelka made his first appearance at Anfield as a Liverpool player this afternoon with Robbie Fowler's number nine on his back. Anelka has been signed on loan from Paris St Germain to fill the gap left by Fowler's £11m transfer to Leeds United and after being awarded Fowler's number nine jersey, there is no uncertainty about what role he is expected to fill for the Merseyside club.
Anelka and fellow new signing Czech Milan Baros, also unveiled by the club this afternoon following his £3.5m transfer, will both go straight into Liverpool's squad for the St Stephen's Day trip to Aston Villa and the pressure will be on them to produce the goods immediately as the Reds have only picked up one point from their last three games.
However, Anelka is determined to put all previous controversy behind him and start afresh at Anfield, despite comments earlier this year when he was quoted saying he disliked England and the English game. "I'm only on loan at the moment, but if I could sign now I would. I was so young when I joined Arsenal, but I have learned so much since then. Liverpool have outstanding players, they are a fine side and I am really excited to have the chance to play alongside Michael Owen," he said.
"There have been problems in the past, but it was Gerard Houllier who persuaded me to come back to England - it helps that he is French. But the main attraction was the trophies that Liverpool won last season and their past achievements impressed me. Gerard Houllier has told me that Liverpool are a very good team, and I already realised that. He has been my coach for France at full international level, under-21 and under-18, I want to play for him again," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
