For lots of Arsenal followers, Nwankwo Kanu is the final word cult hero. Whereas he by no means managed to achieve the heights of the opposite strikers on the membership, his phenomenal footwork and two-fingered salute made him an icon.
It’s the ultimate minute of the match at Stamford Bridge, and the ambiance is electrical. Chelsea have been 2-0 up and cruising going into the ultimate quarter of an hour, however Kanu had made positive one other bad-tempered London derby can be fought till the tip with two shut range-finishes on 75 and 83.
The primary, toe-poked from contained in the field, wasn’t a lot to take a look at, and the second – though an exquisite use of area – was solely marginally simpler on the attention.
Now, with the seconds ticking down in direction of the ultimate whistle, the younger Nigerian chases down a lax move to the left wing by Marc Overmars. He throws himself in the way in which of an tried clearance by the scrambling Albert Ferrer, and abruptly he finds himself in acres of area in entrance of Arsenal’s travelling followers.
What occurs subsequent epitomises Kanu, and stays one in every of his defining moments in purple and white.
With rangy nice strides on his lengthy, whippy legs, he prices in direction of the field and onrushing Chelsea stopper Ed de Goey.
Skipping previous the keeper with the help of some implausible footwork – however not earlier than de Goey will get a hand on the ball and sends it pinballing madly throughout his legs – Kanu’s motion appears skittish someway, virtually spidery in its many-limbed complexity.
Nonetheless, he stays completely calm as he executes a seemingly easy end, sending a shot crusing over the pogoing heads of Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf and into the highest right-hand nook of the web.
🗓 20 years in the past as we speak, Kanu turned a Gunner 🇳🇬
Video games: 1️⃣9️⃣8️⃣ 🏟
Objectives: 4️⃣4️⃣ ⚽️@PremierLeagues: 2️⃣ 🏆
FA Cups: 2️⃣ 🏆…and 1️⃣ unforgettable hat-trick at Chelsea 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Y2HHnYBh42
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 15, 2019
Kanu was by no means going to be the principle man at Arsenal, arriving as he did on the goalscoring peak of Nicolas Anelka and never lengthy earlier than the emergence of Thierry Henry.
Directly awkward and able to nice magnificence, he was a really totally different kind of ahead, a mercurial genius who scored targets not in nice portions however usually with elegant ability.
Nonetheless, the 6ft 5in striker already had a cultish air about him when he was transferred to Arsenal from Inter Milan, having made his identify as a prodigy at Ajax earlier than struggling in Serie A, mitigated by the truth that he had overcome surgical procedure for a critical coronary heart defect throughout his time on the San Siro.
He grabbed Arsenal followers’ consideration early on with one other derby purpose scored a couple of months after becoming a member of the membership, flicking the ball backwards over the top of Luke Younger earlier than thumping house in opposition to Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
KAN U BELIEVE IT?
Fantastic purpose second with @arsenal in opposition to #spurs in 1999.
.
Who do you suppose will win the North London Derby tomorrow?
.#soccer #northlondon @arsenal #kanu #derby #coyg #premierleauge #arsenal #tottenham #beautifulgame #abilities #consider #hardwork pic.twitter.com/OvlLvIx5vo— Kanu Nwankwo (@papilokanu) August 31, 2019
It was targets like this which made Kanu a legend in north London, reveals of inventiveness and creativeness which so usually left the breath of spectators caught of their throats.
That’s to not say he wasn’t a grasp of poacher’s targets and five-yard finishes, solely that he had an exquisite distinction to his sport, a way through which he was each a first-touch phenomenon and consistently tripping over his personal toes.
Together with all that, he had a disposition which followers couldn’t assist however discover interesting, celebrating his strikes with all the passion of a gangly teenager who had simply overwhelmed a mate at Smart Soccer.
His face was plastered with a smile at any time when he scored, whereas he even pioneered a trademark purpose ritual lengthy earlier than Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo: a far cry from their slick efforts at self-promotion, his was a gawky two-fingered salute which he perfected within the sport the place he backheeled in in opposition to Middlesbrough.
In temperament, Kanu was an antidote to ‘Le Sulk’ Anelka; for aptitude, he rivalled Dennis Bergkamp at instances; he was scoring with backheels lengthy earlier than Henry, and as such he took on iconic standing in his personal proper regardless of the plethora of expertise round him.
Maybe the one place he was extra liked than at Highbury was in Nigeria, the place he was not a lot a cult hero as a nationwide treasure. In addition to serving to the Tremendous Eagles to the knockout phases of France 98, he received Olympic gold together with his nationwide crew and managed to outshine even Ronaldo and the titans of Brazil.
Like all the perfect cult heroes, Kanu flirted with obscurity throughout his later years at Arsenal, including one other enigmatic layer to his private legend.
His variety of begins step by step declined and reached their lowest ebb within the 2003-04 season, although he did make sufficient appearances to earn a league medal and may depend himself among the many hallowed variety of the ‘Invincibles’.
He departed on the finish of that season, beloved of the followers in a approach through which solely a choose few Arsenal alumni have been since. He additionally left with a clutch of winner’s medals, having contributed to 2 Premier League titles and twice received the FA Cup.
Surprisingly, that may not be the tip of Kanu’s silverware haul in England. Having spent a few barely underwhelming seasons at West Brom, few would have predicted that he would add to his trophy cupboard after becoming a member of Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth in 2006.
Whereas their FA Cup triumph two years later will all the time be related to the monetary catastrophe which got here afterwards – Kanu was one in every of an expensively assembled squad whom the membership struggled to maneuver on throughout Pompey’s wrestle in opposition to liquidation – the previous Arsenal man nonetheless gave Portsmouth followers a second to cherish eternally.
Having nudged in the winner of their FA Cup semi-final in opposition to the Baggies, he repeated the trick within the last in opposition to Cardiff, including that final lustre to his idiosyncratic legacy.
By Will Magee
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