Sylvain Wiltord

By Craig · Published 9 November 2026

Sylvain Wiltord scored the goal that won Arsenal the league at Old Trafford in May 2002. He arrived as the substitute who had dragged France into extra time in the Euro 2000 final, cost a club-record fee, and spent four seasons doing whatever Arsène Wenger needed.

Clubs

Rennes, Bordeaux, Arsenal, Lyon, Rennes, Marseille, Metz, Nantes

Premier League

106 appearances, 31 goals

Honours

Premier League 2001/02 and 2003/04, FA Cup 2001/02 and 2002/03, Ligue 1 1998/99 (Bordeaux) and 2004/05 to 2006/07 (Lyon), European Championship 2000

International

92 France caps, 26 goals

Fantasy price

£8.5m in 2000/01

How he arrived

Wiltord was born in Neuilly-sur-Marne, east of Paris, one of eight children. He came through at Rennes, then moved to Bordeaux in 1997. In three seasons there he scored 46 goals in 99 league games, and in 1998/99 Bordeaux won the French title.

Then came Rotterdam. In the Euro 2000 final Italy led 1-0 through Marco Delvecchio, and the trophy was nearly theirs. Wiltord had come on for Christophe Dugarry just before the hour. In the third minute of stoppage time he broke free on the left of the box and drove a low shot past Francesco Toldo. In extra time another substitute, Robert Pires, crossed for David Trezeguet's golden goal.

Pires joined Arsenal that summer, and so did Wiltord. He signed on 26 August 2000. The fee was never officially confirmed, but it was reported at around £13m, a club record. Wenger liked that he could do more than one job: "He's very mobile and can play as a target man."

His first season brought 15 goals in all competitions, including a first-half hat-trick in a 3-0 win over West Ham in March 2001.

The moment: Old Trafford, 8 May 2002

Arsenal went to Manchester four days after winning the FA Cup. A draw would make them champions. Manchester United had won the previous three titles.

Early in the second half Freddie Ljungberg shot, and Fabien Barthez could only push it out. Arsenal's own account says Wiltord was "perfectly placed to pounce". He scored, and it finished 1-0.

Arsenal were champions with a game to spare, seven points clear. It was the club's third Double, it ended Sir Alex Ferguson's three-year hold on the league, and they had won it on his ground.

That was the pattern of his best days at Arsenal. Not always pretty, but in the right place when it counted.

Why he left Arsenal

The 2003/04 season was his last. He played 12 league games, eight of them starts, and scored three goals. That was enough to put his name on the unbeaten title, but he was no longer a regular. His contract ran out that summer and he left on a free transfer. He turned down West Bromwich Albion and signed for Lyon on 31 August 2004.

Why the streets won't forget

In the same four years Thierry Henry scored 125 goals for Arsenal. Wiltord scored 49 in 175 games. Those aren't numbers that get you a statue. But Wenger could start him or bring him off the bench, and he kept turning up in the big games.

He also scored the goals people remember. The hat-trick against West Ham. Another in a 4-0 League Cup win over Manchester United in 2001. The winner at Old Trafford. And for France, the goal that kept Euro 2000 alive when Italy were seconds from the trophy.

In a retro squad he's a useful kind of player to have: ten league goals in each of 2001/02 and2002/03 from a man who wasn't always first choice. He won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups in four seasons, then went to Lyon and won three French titles in a row. Not many players can say that.

He finished with 92 caps and 26 goals for France, and was part of the squad that reached the 2006 World Cup final.

Where is he now

After Lyon he went back to Rennes in 2007. Short spells at Marseille and Metz followed, then a final season at Nantes. He retired in June 2012, at 38.

He has done some punditry on French television, starting with a short stint on Canal+ around the 2010 World Cup. In March 2015 he took part in the TF1 reality show Dropped in Argentina. He had already been eliminated when a mid-air helicopter collision killed ten people, including three of the contestants.

These days his sport is padel. According to one French report, he enrolled on a professional padel-teaching course in 2022. He plays competitively too: in June 2025 he won his first P500 tournament, in Guadeloupe, partnering Arthur Hugounenq. He keeps a low profile.

Which seasons can you draft him in?

Three. He isn't in the game's squads for 2003/04, his last season at Arsenal.

Want him in your retro fantasy football team for the big nights? Draft a squad from2000/01.