On this day 25 years ago, a relatively unknown 17-year-old signed for Arsenal.
His name was Nicolas Anelka - and it would prove to be the start of a long, successful and often controversial career in England.
The Frenchman won countless honours during his playing days, including two Premier League titles, Serie A and Turkey's Super Lig.
He also lifted the Champions League, three FA Cups and two Community Shields, as well as the European Championships and Confederations Cup.
Yet some believe he should've won even more. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at the ups and downs Anelka's maverick career.
What's your favourite moment of Nicolas Anelka's career? Let us know in the comments below!
Glory in London, turbulence in Madrid
Anelka had just 10 professional appearances to his name for Paris Saint-Germain when he arrived at Highbury in February 1997.
Signing him was a risk for Arsene Wenger, who was only three months into his 22-year reign. Anelka was the Arsenal manager's first piece of business in the transfer market.
He also wasn't quite ready to be thrown into a title race - making just four appearances in his debut campaign - yet the deal paid off the following season.
Anelka went on to help the Gunners win the Premier League and FA Cup in 1997-98. And he was even better the next year, scoring 19 goals in all competitions.
The teenager's prolific form caught Real Madrid's attention and the Spanish giants paid Arsenal £22.3million for his services - a huge transfer fee in the summer of 1999.
"My biggest regret and shame is that Anelka left," admitted Wenger last November. "He could have been special."
As his replacement Thierry Henry went on to become Arsenal's all-time leading scorer, Anelka struggled in Madrid - scoring just two La Liga goals all season.
He fell out with Real manager Vincente del Bosque and was suspended by the club's president Lorenzo Sanz for refusing to train in March 2000.
Anelka later described his time at Real as a "nightmare", adding: "There was so much pressure. I was in the press every day. On the pitch, things weren't great.
"I couldn't have a private life... you're 20, you can't walk down the street. Everything you do gets talked about, everything you buy is in the newspapers the next day."
Anelka fixed his relationship with De Bosque before the end of the season and played a pivotal role in their Champions League triumph, starting the final against Valencia.
Home, however, was calling and he returned to PSG in July 2000 before later completing a loan spell at Liverpool. Neither club managed to get the best out of him, though.
King Kev does the trick
By May 2002, Anelka was out of the French team and the spotlight having scored just 16 league goals in three seasons.
The 23-year-old career wasn't going as planned, yet clubs were still interested in him.
One such was newly promoted Manchester City, who offered him the chance to return to the Premier League and play under two-time Ballon d'Or winner Kevin Keegan.
The former Newcastle manager's attacking style got the best out of Anelka, as he scored 45 goals in 103 outings in all competitions. He was back to his best.
The striker wasn't playing in Europe's elite, however, and longed for a Champions League return. His itchy feet became a distraction was sold to Fenerbahce in January 2005.
"I scored a lot and I never had any trouble with the players and the fans," said Anelka at the time.
"But I realised despite beautiful words, the club will not be able to play in the Champions League soon... I needed to question myself and try something else."
After becoming a Turkish champion, Anelka returned to the Premier League in August 2006 to play for Sam Allardyce's Bolton - a move that proved to be the making of him.
Ups and downs with France
Although Anelka won two trophies and 69 caps for France, he never quite replicated his form on the senior international stage.
The striker made little impression at Euro 2008 and was omitted more times than picked, missing the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
When Anelka eventually made a World Cup squad in 2010 - aged 31 - he was sent home after falling out with manager Raymond Domenech during a game against Mexico.
"I was frustrated going into the locker room," remembered Anelka.
"I was thinking to myself, 'I’m not getting the ball, I’m not finding a solution. We’re playing badly, it’s 0-0 and we still haven’t scored.'
"All of a sudden, the coach came in and called me out by name. When he called out my name with all that pent-up frustration it just came out because I didn’t like it.
"I didn’t like that he called me out by name as if I were guilty, as if it were all my fault.
"I took it as an attack. It was a big mistake. He had to know I was frustrated. He had to know I was a volcano about to erupt."
The story dominated the French press and Anelka never played for his country again. France crashed out of the tournament at the group stage, as Domenech lost his job.
It was a disappointing end to an international career that promised so much.
Swan song at the Bridge
After scoring 21 Premier League goals in 18 months at Bolton, Chelsea spent £15m to bring Anelka to Stamford Bridge in January 2008.
He would finally have a chance to win big trophies again, yet he and his new team-mates failed to get the better of Manchester United in 2007-08.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side clinched the title and defeated the Blues in a penalty shootout in the Champions League final, with Anelka missing the deciding spot kick.
The Frenchman struggled under Chelsea manager Avram Grant - scoring just twice in his first 24 appearances - and his Stamford Bridge career appeared to be over.
Grant was sacked after the UCL final defeat, however, and Anelka flourished the following season - scoring 19 Premier League goals to win the Golden Boot.
After years of wondering what could've been, Anelka had become one of the best strikers in Europe. It was a vindicating moment for the questioned forward.
Controversial end
Anelka left Chelsea in January 2012 to play for Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua and later joined Italian giants Juventus for a brief loan spell.
His final stint in England came during the 2013-14 campaign, when he signed for West Brom and dreamed of ending his glittering career in the Premier League.
He didn't even finish the season at West Brom, however. Anelka was sacked by the club in March 2014 for gross misconduct over his controversial "quenelle" gesture.
He made the gesture - which is viewed by some as anti-Semitic - after scoring against West Ham in December 2014. The FA handed him a five-game ban for his actions.
Anelka has always denied allegations of anti-Semitism, claiming the gesture was "anti-establishment" rather than an attack on the Jewish community.
"I'm back in the team and the first game I play, I score," he recalled. "So I do this celebration.
"People don't know it because I never wanted to talk about Steve Clarke, but when I do the quenelle, it's for him. For me, it wasn't anti-Semitic, so I was surprised."
A spell in the Indian Super League with Mumbai City followed before Anelka hung up his boots at the end of 2015 with more than 200 club goals to his name.
It's undeniable Anelka had a tremendous career, boasting a CV most players could only dream of. There will always be a feeling, however, that he could've achieved more.
