Anelka 'a better player than he was at Arsenal'

Funny what an adoring public can do for a shattered morale. Often misunderstood and regularly in confrontation with sections of the media, he required a move to Manchester City to help him find the peace he has always sought. But enough about Kevin Keegan. These days, there is another one-time troubled soul showing signs of a successful rehabilitation at Maine Road.

Nicolas Anelka is back: back in England where he says he belongs, back in the goals and, most significantly of all, back smiling again. No wonder. Having started all 22 of City's Premiership games so far this season, the Frenchman has been left in no doubt as to his importance to the team. And, knowing he is needed, Anelka has repaid his new employers by netting 10 goals and sitting pretty in the leading trio of top-flight scorers.

Goals apart, such has been the quality and maturity of his performances that you could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss constantly surrounding him is about. "It's laughable in a way," Anelka admits. "I have never been sent off in my career and never hurt another opponent, so where does this bad-boy reputation come from? It's simply the media who make me out to be trouble."

The managers and chairmen of Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Liverpool might have a different viewpoint, although Anelka defends his career decisions. "It's easy, in hindsight, to say the moves were destructive," he says, "but I won the Champions' League at Real Madrid and I would never have done that somewhere else.

"People also need to remember that when Madrid came calling I was only 20. Maybe I didn't handle things as well as I could have, although at PSG I wasn't the only player to fall out with the coach [two of Anelka's current Manchester City team-mates, Ali Benarbia and Djamel Belmadi, also had arguments with the notoriously difficult Luis Fernandez]. It is all too easy for people to have a go at me."

Even Anelka's biggest critics would have to admit that Le Sulkhas been nowhere to be seen since the summer. And you can be sure he will not be making a comeback today. In fact, do not be surprised if Anelka has a bit of a smirk on his face this afternoon, when City take on Liverpool in the FA Cup. The Frenchman was deeply hurt by Gérard Houllier's decision not to make his six-month loan spell more permanent last July. Equally, though, he can now see how much the Reds could do with a player of his ilk.

"I honestly thought I was going to join Liverpool," Anelka says, "but the more it dragged on the more I feared the move wouldn't come off. I think there were a lot of people who wanted me to stay, but Gérard Houllier wasn't among them. I didn't like the way he messed me about, but it was rubbish to suggest I fell out with him, or had words with him. The simple fact is he told me he was going to sign me and then changed his mind. Don't ask me why because I don't know. You would have to ask him."

Houllier is a charming and honest man, but not one for admitting to errors of judgement. All he will say is that he has "no regrets about not signing Nicolas", but Liverpool's lack of invention and firepower suggest otherwise. Anelka has scored more goals for City than Liverpool's three second strikers put together. Try as they might, El Hadji Diouf (two), Milan Baros (four) and Emile Heskey (one) cannot finish like the Frenchman.

Houllier says this is because they are still young, but that argument holds no water when you consider that Anelka is still only 23 himself. Given time, the Frenchman could have been the perfect foil for Michael Owen.

He might also have offered that little je ne sais quoi that Liverpool have lacked all season. Instead, he will be terrorising the Reds' defence, looking to score for the third consecutive game.

"If you look at Nico these days," says Christian Damiano, who was Anelka's first coach at the French academy in Clairefontaine before going on to work at Fulham, "then you notice a new-found maturity in his play. He doesn't get as many chances as when he played for Arsenal or Real Madrid, but he doesn't panic. That is the sign of a great striker. When Man City played against us, Nico showed why he is so dangerous. He missed a great chance to score with a header towards the end but refused to let his head drop and kept at it. The result was that he found the net with a much trickier opportunity and won them the game. Nico is a better player than he was at Arsenal."

Anelka agrees with Damiano's assessment. "When I left Arsenal," he says, "I was seen as the archetypal No 9, using my pace to score goals. But there is far more to my game now. I can drop deep, go wide and link play – it's not just about scoring goals."

Much of the credit for Anelka's transformation must go to his current manager. Keegan understands his complex star. Perhaps this is because he was a striker in his time, or perhaps it is because he, too, craves adulation and acceptance. Either way, Keegan's skilful handling of his pupil is bearing fruit.

"From the moment I met Kevin Keegan, I was sold on his enthusiasm," Anelka says. "He has a history of making clubs great and his management of players is exceptional. He's very hands-on and a great defender of his players. He doesn't just coach – he talks to you as an adult, he looks for your input. He's one of the main reasons I joined City, because if I didn't think I could work and improve under him I would never have made the move."

The respect is mutual. Keegan says that Anelka is one of the brightest players he has ever coached, and insists that he "would not swap Nicolas for any other striker in the world".

With that sort of backing, it is perhaps little wonder that Anelka insists he has "found what I was looking for at Man-chester City". And, as a result of his new-found happiness, the Frenchman wants to play in every game. He has recently admitted to feeling tired and was even offered the chance to sit out this afternoon's Cup tie.

Sacred sky blue: Anelka would not have missed this game for the world. The man once known as Le Sulk has some serious smiling to do against Liverpool.