Arsène Wenger did his best to dent Chelsea’s euphoria at signing Nicolas Anelka by suggesting yesterday that the forward would rather be playing for Arsenal. The manager considered bringing the France striker back to North London after selling Thierry Henry last summer and Anelka was so desperate to secure a return that his representatives examined the possibility of a move before the opening of this month’s transfer window.

Wenger believes Anelka wanted to return to make up for what he considers to be the career-defining mistake of demanding a transfer nine years ago, although the manager decided against it because of an unofficial club policy prohibiting the signing of former players. Arsenal paid Paris Saint-Germain £500,000 for Anelka in 1997 before selling him to Real Madrid for £23.5 million two years later.

“We bought him in 1997 and he has since acknowledged he made a mistake in leaving us,” Wenger said. “When he left here he was a regular in the national team just ahead of Euro 2000. He left, Thierry Henry came here and played in the European Championship. He was never accepted at Real Madrid, went back to Paris Saint-Germain and it was always up and down for him after that.

“He had so much class and is now back to the top level, but he wanted to come back here. I considered it because he wanted to put it right.”

Speaking at the launch of Arsenal TV, available through Setanta, Wenger claimed his side now feel at home at the Emirates Stadium after a challenging first season. “It was difficult for us last year,” he said. “I felt at the start, it was like playing at a neutral ground, but now we’re used to it.”

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football