He barely played in 98 AAR, you're being pretty generous to him there calling him a WC winner
He played out wide when he joined and for the longest time looked a talented player with no end product. Then Wenger - wisely - moved him up front and he looked a very good player who couldn't finish. Within 2-3 years he was the best player in the PL imo.
Song was never that bad, and never that good either. Again imo.