10. Nicolas Anelka
Young, breathtakingly talented and above all, athletic, the rising 17-year old moved away from Paris Saint-Germain and came to the North London side. In the early days there were glimpses of brilliance from the coltish Frenchman, but they were all too sparing as he appeared to lack the maturity for first-team responsibility.
Arsenal ended the 1998/99 campaign empty-handed but Anelka was named PFA Young Player of the Year. In his 90 appearances at Arsenal (73 starts, 17 as a sub), he managed 28 goals for the club.