Nicolas Anelka
Signed from Paris Saint-Germain at just 17, Nicolas Anelka would go on to become a familiar name to Premier League crowds up and down the land over the next two decades.
The 1997-98 campaign would prove to be Anelka's breakthrough term, scoring nine goals to help the Gunners lift both the Premier League and FA Cup.
Following another impressive showing the following year, the forward would join Real Madrid for £22m - £21,500 more than he cost Arsenal - before returning to English football for spells with Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea and finally West Bromwich Albion.
Anelka spent just 28 months in North London, but it is tough to argue that he relived his form from his short spell at Arsenal anywhere else across the continent.
