8 Premier League heroes the streets will never forget – from Taarabt to Payet

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The phrase 'the streets won't forget' has earned itself a place in footballing vocabulary thanks to its constant use on social media.

Its definition, however, is slightly harder to pin down.

It seems to stem from moments of individual brilliance, that are almost impossible to forget, but the player in question never quite broke into the upper echelons of the sport.

This unique group of players, not quite Premier League legends but above the cult-hero status, have forged their own place in history.

And Daily Star Sport is looking at eight players that the streets will never forget.

Adel Taarabt

There's no other place to start this list than with Benfica's misunderstood showman, Adel Taarabt.

At QPR, under Neil Warnock, Taarabt was a whimsical figure, and his mercurial talent helped him to dance his way through Championship defences on his way to the Premier League with the R's.

Martin Jol once described Taarabt as 'a wizard', but Harry Redknapp fumed at him for being 'three stone overweight'.

That was the beauty of Taarabt's football, you never knew what you were going to get, but on his day, he was unplayable.

Are there any players that we missed off of our list? Let us know in the comments section

Morten Gamst Pedersen

At 40-years-old, Morten Gamst Pedersen is still playing football for Alta IF, some 400km inside of the Arctic Circle.

But it's his nine years at Blackburn Rovers that still has fans of the Lancashire side producing a cheeky smile at the mention of his name.

Pedersen possessed a rocket of a left foot, and it often left Manchester United, more than others, wondering what they had to do to contain him.

Sir Alex Ferguson once quipped: "Pedersen seems to be making his reputation against us," after the Norwegian had volleyed home.

Dimitri Payet

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Another attacking midfielder whose dribbling wouldn't look out of place in the Brazilian national side, but looked completely lost off the ball.

Dimitri Payet electrified Upton Park in its final days with moments of individual brilliance that still have West Ham fans bemused as to how he managed it.

Payet's crowning moment came with a stunning curling free-kick against Crystal Palace in 2016.

However, all good things must come to end, and Payet left the Hammers for Marseille in 2017.

Hatem Ben Arfa

Hatem Ben Arfa's career has been full of sky-high moments that have seen him crash back down to earth in a matter of months.

But Newcastle fans still fondly remember the fleet-footed Frenchman skipping through the Bolton Wanderers defence to score one of the all-time great Premier League goals.

Ben Arfa's time at the top was fleeting; he struggled on loan at Hull before rediscovering his brilliance at Nice only to be cast aside at PSG.

However, the Premier League has seldom seen a better player with the ball at his feet.

Michu

Like Ben Arfa, Michu's time at the top was short, but the Spanish striker certainly left a lasting impression.

For the 11/12 season, every ground up and down the country became familiar with the floppy-haired striker cupping his ear running off in celebration.

Michu cost Swansea just £2million and delivered a return of 18 goals in his opening campaign, even earning a call up to the Spanish national side.

However, reality soon came crashing back, and as soon as the goals came flooding in, they dried up for Michu.

Jay-Jay Okocha

Jay-Jay Okocha, the man so good they named him twice, or so the legend goes.

At PSG, Okocha had been a mentor for a young Ronaldinho, who had just arrived in Europe before curiously making the move to Bolton.

But Okocha was a revelation in Lancashire, and the showman brought all his tricks to the Reebok Stadium from stepovers to rainbow flicks.

The Nigerian was football's greatest showman during his days under Sam Allardyce.

Andrey Arshavin

It took just 90 minutes for Arsenal's misunderstood winger to cement his place as a 'streets won't forget' player.

Arshavin found the back of the net four times for the Gunners as they played at a classic against Liverpool.

Of course, Liverpool also scored four, including two through Yossi Benayoun, remember him?

However, there were off the field issues at Arsenal which stunted his progress, and Arshavin was soon on his way back to Zenit St.Petersburg.

Ricardo Quaresma

Okay, this one is slightly cheating as Ricardo Quaresma only made four appearances for Chelsea, and he made his name outside of the Premier League.

But what is a 'streets don't forget' list without Quaresma?

Quaresma possessed all the talent in the world, but he only lets it shine in fleeting moments.

There are fewer finer sights in football than Quaresma cutting inside off the right-wing and hitting the ball with the outside of his foot into the far top corner.

  • Premier League
  • Queens Park Rangers FC
  • Blackburn Rovers FC
  • West Ham FC
  • Newcastle United FC
  • Swansea City FC
  • Bolton Wanderers FC
  • Arsenal FC
  • Chelsea FC

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