Coming on the heels of his heroic role at leading Portsmouth Football Club to their first FA Cup victory in 69 years last April. Nigeria’s Super Eagles inspirational skipper, Nwankwo Kanu has added yet another feather to his illustrious cap. He was recently named among ” The Gunners’ 50 Greatest Players’ of all time. The list was determined by tens of thousands of Arsenal fans from across the world. The vote took place on the club’s official website recently.
Kanu, an olympic gold medal winner, arrived at Arsenal in 1999 with an impressive haul of accolades and trophies. By the time he left North London five years later, he had added two Premier League title and two FA Cup madals.
But it was not always smooth sailing for the Nigerian Striker. In 1996, after leading his country to Olympic glory in Atlanta USA, Kanu underwent a medical examination at inter Milan he had moved to the Italian giants from Dutch outfit Ajax Amsterdam with which he won the Champions League and the result was harrowing. It was revealed that the marksman was suffering a serious heart defect, and in Nvember of that year, Kanu had surgery to replace an aortic valve.
Far from letting the adversity get him down, Kanu used his experience and already escalating fame in Africa, to set up the Kanu Heart Foundation, an organization that helps predominantly young people with heart problem on the continent. His philanthropic work is just an example of his humane touch.
Kanu joined the Gunners in the wake of Nicolas Anelka’s departure to real Madrid and, at first, failed to woo the crowd with his languid demeanour on the pitch. Soon, though, Kanu’s attributes became apparent and the cheeky smile he carried with him throughout won over the Highbury faithful.
Kanu operates both as a target man or as a deep- sitting conductor of play. He has the ability to bamboozle defenders, using superb close contro to wriggle out of tight spots. He often scores great goals, too. His delicious flick-of-the heel goal in a 6-1 rout against Middlesbrough springs straight to mind, as does the time in a North London derby when he scooped the ball over a despairing Luke Young before emphatically burying the ball beyond Ian Walker.
However, the momemt Kanu will best be remembered for was his 17-minute hat trick at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea FC in 1999.Having already notched twice to haul Arsenal level, the Nigerian sealed victory with one of the finest goals in the history of the Premier League. He won possession by the left by-line and found himself faced with, first, an out of position goalkeeper, then two defenders and a narrowing angle. Ed de Goey was slithered past with a subtle shimmy before Kanu unleashed a curling effort which arrowed into the far top corner.
With his 13th position in the Gunners hall of fame, Kanu amassed enough points to beat Arsenal great players like peter Storey 50, George Graham 42, Alan Smith 27, sol Campbell 15 and David O’Leary 14.
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