Jérémie Aliadière (born 30 March 1983) is érémieAliadièa French former professional footballer who played as a striker.
As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal at the age of 16. During his career he also played for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League, West Ham United in the Premier League, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, before returning to Arsenal for another season. At the beginning of the 2007–08 season he was sold to Premier League club Middlesbrough for £2.5 million.
In 2011 the striker signed for Lorient playing for Les Merlus til 2014. In September 2016, it was announced that Aliadière would be returning to the Stade du Moustoir, once again playing for Lorient.
Early life
Aliadière was born in Rambouillet, Yvelines.
Club career
Arsenal
Aliadière signed for Arsenal at the age of 16 before the beginning of the 1999–2000 season. He made his Premier League debut for Arsenal against Fulham in the 2001–02 season, replacing Thierry Henry in a 4–1 victory. That game was his only league appearance that season, meaning he was not eligible for a medal as Arsenal won the 2001–02 FA Premier League. He scored his first goal for the club the following season, in a 5–2 victory over West Bromwich Albion on 27 August 2002.
In the 2003–04 season, Aliadière was mainly played in the 2003–04 League Cup rather than the league, scoring Arsenal's first League Cup goal of the season against Rotherham United. The match finished 1–1 after extra time, with Arsenal winning 9–8 on penalties. He also scored twice against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the following round of the League Cup, his second winning goal for the month for December. In total, he scored four goals in the cup run, having also scored against West Brom in the quarter-finals, with Arsenal finally being eliminated by Middlesbrough in the semi-finals. He was voted best young talent in the 2003–04 League Cup. As the season progressed, he made further inroads into the Arsenal first team, playing ten Premier League matches, seven as a substitute, to gain a Premier League winners' medal, as well as making his FA Cup debut in a 1–0 defeat against Manchester United in the semi-finals. He also came on as a late substitute in Arsenal's 5–1 victory over Inter Milan in the San Siro. Seconds after coming on, he set up the fifth goal for Robert Pires.
Aliadière missed much of the following 2004–05 season after picking up an injury in the 2004 FA Community Shield, and was kept out of action until March. On his return, he made six substitute appearances for the first team, including the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers. Although he failed to score in these matches, he scored eight goals in five games for Arsenal's reserves. Despite his limited opportunities and being linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, he was offered and signed a new Arsenal contract, running until the summer of 2009, announced at the same time as a loan move to Celtic.
Loan to Celtic
In the summer of 2005, Aliadière was sent on loan to Scottish club Celtic for the entire 2005–06 season in order to play regular first team football. Despite his limited appearances, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger had stated he had a future at Arsenal, despite being kept out of the side at the time by the form of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. In the end, his time at Celtic was forgettable; he made just two substitute appearances for the club, one in each leg of their loss to Artmedia Bratislava in the Champions League. He accused Celtic manager Gordon Strachan of not giving him a chance.
Loan to West Ham United
On 24 August 2005, Aliadière decided to move back to London after a lack of first team opportunities, where West Ham United took over his year-long loan deal, having been promoted back to the Premier League after two seasons in the lower leagues. Once again affected by injury, he only made eight appearances for West Ham, seven as a substitute.
Loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 31 January 2006, West Ham terminated the loan, and Aliadière joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the 2005–06 season. He scored two league goals for Wolves, in games against Hull City and Watford.