The genius of Kanu: Arsenal’s underrated magician | OneFootball

Nwankwo Kanu was Arsenal’s ultimate wildcard – a super-sub, a magician in the box, and a player who thrived in the impossible.

Nwankwo Kanu was never the headline act at Arsenal, but he was often the difference-maker.

The lanky Nigerian forward, signed from Inter Milan in 1999, became a cult hero at Highbury, delivering moments of breath-taking brilliance with a mix of instinct, audacity, and technique that few could match.

Though his name is often overshadowed by Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, and others from that era, Kanu’s contributions were pivotal. He was the master of the impossible goal, the player who could conjure magic from the tightest angles, and the one who, when Arsenal needed something extraordinary, so often delivered.

He was, in many ways, the ultimate Arsène Wenger player – unorthodox, intelligent, and technically sublime. But his elegance masked a resilience and bravery that his manager always admired. “He never complained, you could kick him everywhere, and he never said a word,” Wenger recalled in 2012. “He was very brave and I have a big respect for him.”

The super-sub with an impact

25 Oct 2000: Nwankwo Kanu of Arsenal celebrates during the UEFA Champions League match against Sparta Prague at Highbury in London. Arsenal won t…

Kanu’s Arsenal career was defined by game-changing moments. A player of incredible dexterity, he wasn’t the quickest or the strongest, but he had a knack for finding space where none existed.

His best work was often done off the bench, earning him the title of the ultimate super-sub. He was never a guaranteed starter, but that didn’t stop him from making an enormous impact. He was the kind of player who could step onto the pitch cold and still produce a moment of magic with his first touch.

One of his most famous goals came in the UEFA Cup against Deportivo La Coruña, a goal that encapsulated his entire career.

As the Spanish side tried to play out from the back, a wayward header fell into Kanu’s path. He had already anticipated the mistake and was on the move before the ball arrived.

His composure in that moment – effortlessly rounding the goalkeeper before slotting home – was pure Kanu.

Even when he wasn’t directly involved in scoring, defenders could never switch off. His mere presence created panic. His unorthodox movement and ability to stretch out one of his impossibly long legs to intercept a pass or poke a ball home made him a nightmare to defend against.

Moments of genius

There were plenty of moments that showcased Kanu’s technical brilliance. Against Middlesbrough in 1998-99, he scored a delightful backheel goal, an instinctive flick that caught the entire defence off guard.

Against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby, he twisted and chipped the ball over Luke Young before calmly finishing—a goal that earned him immediate adulation from Arsenal fans.

But it was Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 1999 that sealed his legendary status. Arsenal were 2-0 down with 15 minutes to go.

The game seemed lost.

Enter Kanu.

His first goal was a scrappy one, a stretched-out toe-poke after Ray Parlour’s cross was only partially cleared. The second was far more clinical, a composed finish after Arsenal pressed Chelsea into an error. But the third goal was something from another planet.

With the game deep into stoppage time, Kanu picked up the ball wide on the left. The Chelsea goalkeeper, Ed de Goey, inexplicably rushed off his line.

Kanu, seeing the impossible angle after putting the keeper on his arse, bent the ball over the Dutchman and into the net from near the byline.

It was audacious and brilliant. Stamford Bridge fell silent except for the travelling Arsenal fans, who had just witnessed one of the most remarkable hat-tricks in English football history.

That night summed up everything Kanu was about – unpredictability, ice-cold finishing, and an ability to change a game in an instant.

Overshadowed but unforgettable

Despite these incredible moments, Kanu was rarely the focal point of Arsenal’s success. He played in a team filled with superstars – Henry, Bergkamp, Overmars, Vieira – and naturally, he never quite got the same recognition.

His contributions were sometimes overlooked because he didn’t fit the mould of a conventional striker. He wasn’t always prolific, he didn’t have Henry’s blistering speed or Bergkamp’s finesse, but what he had was an unmatched ability to produce something out of nothing.

His record of 37 goals in 182 appearances may not seem spectacular, but it is the nature of those goals that makes him unforgettable. Every Arsenal fan remembers Kanu’s hat-trick at Chelsea, his backheels, his toe-pokes, his impossible angles.

A lasting legacy

Photo credit ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images

Kanu left Arsenal in 2004, moving to West Bromwich Albion before finishing his career at Portsmouth, where he famously scored the winning goal in the 2008 FA Cup final.

Even in his later years, his knack for producing moments of magic never faded.

Since retiring, Kanu has dedicated his life to humanitarian work. He founded the Kanu Heart Foundation, a charity helping underprivileged children in Africa with heart conditions. It was a cause close to his own – he had undergone surgery for a congenital heart defect earlier in his career.

Despite not always being in the spotlight, Kanu was one of Arsenal’s most unique and beloved players. His contributions to the club may not have been as celebrated as those of Henry or Bergkamp, but they were just as vital in defining the team’s success.

Kanu wasn’t just a striker – he was an artist. And that is why he remains one of Arsenal’s great unsung heroes.