ARSENAL’S TOP 10 GREATEST PLAYERS

Arsenals Top 10 Greatest Players

Based in Islington, London, England is a club founded in 1886. Arsenal Football Club. Otherwise known as ‘The Gunners’. A nickname given to them in 1886 as its employees were blacksmiths who made cannons.

They are the most successful FA Cup team in English soccer history winning the competition 14 times. They have won the Premier League three times, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04 and finished as runners up seven times.

They have a history of bringing through young exciting players from their academy who eventually become world stars. A lot of the players to feature on this have won multiple Player of the Year Awards. Arsenal players from 2003-04 heavily feature in this list as part of the Arsenal ‘Invincible’ Squad who went undefeated that year. 

Are there any US players in Arsenal soccer team?

As of the 2023 season, there are no US players on the Arsenal team. This transfer window just gone; Goalkeeper Matt Turner transferred to Nottingham Forrest for around $9 million which could rise to $12.8m with add-ons. Folarin Balogun also left this summer, he joined French side Monaco for a reported $30m, eventually rising to $40m. Turner and Balogun were the last remaining Americans on the London team. Other Americans that have played for Arsenal include Gedion Zelalem (2014), Daniel Karbassiyoon (2003), Frank Simek (1996) and Doug Farquhar (1944)

Famous Arsenal Players

The Premier League has been littered with Arsenal stars; they are currently enjoying one of their best spells in recent history. The Arsenal squad is competing at the highest level with the best teams in the world. Buyako Saka is the best player on the current Arsenal roster. He’s only 22-year's old and is a regular for both club and country.

The Arsenal squad is stacked with great talent, former Real Madrid wonderkid Martin Odegaard is captaining the side, ex player and current manager Mikel Arteta is taking the world by storm with his passion and brilliant tactical mind. He’s attracting players from big clubs to want to come and play for Arsenal, something that hasn’t happened for years. The likes of Declan Rice, Gabriel Jesus, Alexander Zinchenko, all choosing to come and play for Arsenal and try and win a title.

The most famous Arsenal player is Thierry Henry, but there are so many. Former Arsenal players include Ian Wright, Tony Adams, Theo Walcott, the list goes on.

Arsenals international players may be the some of the best in Premier League Soccer history, featuring players like Freddie Ljungberg, Patrick Viera and Dennis Bergkamp.

Ranking the Top 10 Greatest Arsenal Players of all time

10. Liam Brady

Position: Attacking Midfielder
Years Active: 1973 - 1990
Teams: Arsenal, Juventus, Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Ascoli, West Ham
Awards: Arsenal Player of the Year x3, PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FA Cup, PFA Team of the Year x3, FAI Hall of Fame, English Football Hall of Fame

William (Liam) Brady is an Irishman who played for Arsenal’s youth team in 1971-1973. He broke into the first team as a regular starter in 1974, he went on the make 235 appearances for the Gunners and score 43 goals.

Arsenal fans will testify that Brady was one of the best playmakers of his generation and often held him in the same breath as Diego Maradona. He was the ticking heartbeat in that Arsenal team and when he left them to join Juventus at the end of the 1979/80 season, Arsenal struggled.

Perhaps Brady’s fondest moment in a red shirt was his superb left foot curling effort from outside of the box in their 5-0 thumping of Tottenham Hotspur. That same year, he won the PFA Players’ Player of the year, he was the first foreign player to win the award.

During his nine years at Arsenal, he helped them reach three consecutive FA Cup finals from 1978 - 1980, winning the 1979 Cup. He also helped them reach the final of the Cup Winner’s Cup, a European competition where they lost to Valencia on penalties, this was his last game for the Gunners.

Arsenal fans consider him a legend and he’ll go down in their history as having one of Arsenal’s best players.

9. Robert Pires

Position: Winger, Attacking Midfielder
Years Active: 1993 - 2015
Teams: Metz, Marseille, Arsenal, Villarreal, Aston Villa, FC Goa
Awards: Coupe de la Ligue, Premier League x2, FA Cup x2, FIFA World Cup, European Championship, Confederations Cup x2, Division 1 Young Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Team of the Year x3, 2001-02 Arsenal Player of the Season, Confederations Cup Golden Ball and Golden Shoe.

Robert Pires was a French footballer who played for Arsenal between 2000 and 2006. He made 189 appearances and scored 62 goals with 41 assists. Pires was part of the 03-04 ‘Invincibles’ team that were undefeated in the season. He won three FA Cups and two Premier League Titles with Arsenal.

Pires was brought in to replace another Arsenal great, Marc Overmaars. He struggled at the start to meet the physicality of the Premier League but eventually emerged as a prolific player and he did not disappoint the Arsenal faithful with some world class performances. In the last game of the 2001-02 season, his team-mates bowed down infront of him has he lifted the Premier League trophy, showing how much respect and admiration they had for the Frenchman.

Pires goes down as one of the best Arsenal players ever and was a crucial cog in their most successful period.

8. David Seaman

Position: Goalkeeper
Years Active: 1982-2004
Teams: Peterborough, Birmingham, QPR, Arsenal, Man City
Awards: Football League First Division 1990-91, Premier League 1997-98, 2001-2002, FA Cup 1992-93, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, Football League Cup 1992-93, Community Shield 1991, 1998, 2002, European Cup Winners Cup 1993-94, 1996 European Championship Team of the Tournament, PFA Team of the Year 1990-91, 1996-97, Premier League Most Clean Sheets 1993-94, 1998-99.

David Seaman is an English goalkeeper who played for Arsenal between 1990 and 2003. His big frame, moustache and long hair, it was hard to miss him. He’s widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League and English history.

The Arsenal goalkeeper played 405 times for the Gunners and sits third on the Premier Leagues record books for most clean sheets for a single club with 137.

Seaman played an important part in Arsenal’s three title winning seasons. He also won four FA Cups, The League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup. Out of all the Arsenal legends players, Seaman is fondly remembered by England fans from his duty in an England shirt too. In 1997 he was awarded an MBE for his services to Soccer.

7. Sol Campbell

Position: Centre-back
Years Active: 1992-2011
Teams: Tottenham, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County, Newcastle
Awards: Premier League 2001-02, 2003-04, FA Cup 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, Community Shield 2002, PFA Team of the Year 2002-03, 2003-04, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team 2002, European Championship Team of the Tournament 2004.

Sulzeer Jeremiah (Sol) Campbell is an English centre back that played for Arsenal between 2001 and 2006. He was part of the Invincibles team and won two Premier Leagues and FA Cups with the Gunners.

Campbell grew up in East London and started his youth career at West Ham before making the switch to Tottenham Hotspur. He made 255 appearances for Spurs before making the switch to Arsenal. For those that don’t know, Arsenal and Spurs are bitter rivals, and this move did not go down well with Spurs fans, but it obviously worked out very well for Campbell’s career.

Although Campbell was only at Arsenal for a relatively short period of time compared to some of other people on this list, he was instrumental in their undefeated season. His partnership with Kolo Toure formed a formidable force at the back. He was quick, strong, and mentally tough, nothing phased him.

He is also the only player to have scored in the 2006 Champions League Final for Arsenal. Down to 10 men, he gave the Gunners a surprising lead, they eventually lost to Barcelona and Arsenal have not returned to a Champions League Final since then.

6. Ian Wright

Position: Striker
Years Active: 1985 - 2000
Teams: Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, Celtic, Burnley
Awards: Premier League 1997-98, FA Cup 1992-93, 1997-98, Football League Cup 1992-93, European Cup Winners’ Cup 1993-94, First Division Golden Boot 1991-92, Arsenal Player of the Season 1991-92, 1992-93, PFA Team of the Year 1992-93, 1996-97, English Football Hall of Fame, Premier League Hall of Fame, PFA Merit Award.

Ian Wright is one of the best strikers to wear Arsenal’s red shirt. A South London native, he spent six years with Crystal Palace before making the switch up to North London to join Arsenal where he served for seven years between 1991 and 1998 scoring 128 goals in 221 appearances. He went on to have fleeting appearances at other clubs before retiring in 2000.

During his time at Arsenal, Wright won the Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup as well as the European Cup Winners Cup. He is Arsenal’s second-highest goal scorer. He was quick, agile and had a knack for putting the ball in the back of the net.

In his first season at Arsenal, he scored a hat-trick on his league debut, and a hat-trick on his last game of the season. The latter enabled him to steal the Golden Boot from Tottenham’s Gary Lineker which won the hearts of all the Arsenal fans.

The goals he scored will never be forgotten by Arsenal fans, the showman that he is, he could score from any angle. He was 34 by the time he won the Premiership with Arsenal, and it was time he bowed out to younger players. A true legend cemented in Arsenal History.

Wright now works as a pundit and is loved my soccer fans all around the world. This year, he was awarded an OBE for his services to football and charity.

5. Tony Adams

Position: Centre-back
Years Active: 1983 - 2002
Teams: Arsenal
Awards: Football League First Divison 1988-89, 1990-91, Premier League 1997-98, 2001-02, FA Cup 1992-93, 1997-98, 2001-02, Football League Cup, 1986-87, 1992-93, FA Community Shield 1997, 1998, European Cup Winners’ Cup 1993-94, Arsenal Player of the Season 1986-87, 1989-90, 1993-94, PFA Younf Player of the Year 1986-87, PFA First Division/Premier League Team of the Year 1986-87, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, PFA Team of the Century 1907-2007, Team of the Decade, English Football Hall of Fame, OBE.

Tony Adams was the captain of both the English National Team and Arsenal between 1983 and 2002. He is a one-man club; he’s only ever played for Arsenal which is one of the reasons he is so high on this list. He made 504 appearances for Arsenal, captaining a title winning team in three different decades. He first got given the captains armband at the ripe age of 21, he would spend the next 14 year's captaining the club.

He is considered one of Arsenal’s greatest ever players. He was a colossus centre back that had impeccable timing, he read the game like no other and the rest of the Arsenal players felt safe when Adams was at the back.

Adams was already a terrific defender, but the arrival of manager Arsene Wenger turned Adams into a complete player. He got on the ball a lot more and started initiating attacks from the back. He even scored 48 goals during his long Arsenal career and plenty of vital ones. Perhaps the most memorable goal was the goal that beat Tottenham at Wembley in 1993.

Adams faced a lot of issues with the media, he struggled with alcoholism and injuries towards the latter end of his career. Regardless, he is one of the Premier League’s all-time greats and will forever be one of the best Arsenal legends. He is one of six former players and coaches to have a statue of themselves outside of the Emirates stadium.

4. Dennis Bergkamp

Position: Forward
Years Active: 1986 - 2006
Teams: Ajax, Inter Milan, Arsenal
Awards: Premier League 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04, FA Cup 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, Community Shield 1998, 2002, 2004, Ballon d'Or runner-up 1993, Premier league most assists 1998-99, PFA Team of the Year 1997-98, FWA Footballer of the Year 1997-98, BBC Goal of the Season 1997-98, 2001-02, Fifa World Cup All-Star Team 1998, English Football Hall of Fame, Premier League Hall of Fame.

Dennis Bergkamp is a Dutch footballer who played for Arsenal from 1995 to 2006. Bergkamp oozed class from the minute he stepped on the pitch, to the last. He was brought in to be part of a new movement at Arsenal, one where they would play more exciting, expansive football.

Arsenal players stats are usually impressive, he was not known for padding the stats with lots of goals, despite scoring 119 goals in 418 appearances for the club. He was more known for the quality of the goals he scored. He didn’t score tap ins.

The most iconic goal will forever be ‘The Swivel’ where he flicked it around a defender with the outside of his foot, swivelled around the defender then slotted it cooler past the keeper. In 2017 it was voted as the best Premier League goal of all-time, and it’s hard to disagree with that.

One of the most creative players of his generation, Bergkamp was essential to everything good at Arsenal for just over a decade. Even age did not bother him, he was part of the Invincible team and being 34 at the time, he was a role model to the younger players in the squad.

In 2007 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, the only Dutch player to receive the honor and in 2021 he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Bergkamp has a strong claim to be the best Arsenal player of all time. He also has a statue honoring him outside of the Emirates.

3. Cesc Fabregas

Position: Centre Midfield
Years Active: 2003 - 2023
Teams: Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Monaco, Como
Awards: FA Cup 2004-05, Community Shield 2004, Bravo Award, Golden Boy Award, UEFA Team of the Year 2006, 2008, Arsenal Player of the Season 2006-07, 2009-10, PFA young Player of the Year 2007-08, PFA Team of the Year 2007-08, 2009-10, ESM Team of the Year 2007-08, 2009-10, 2014-15, UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament 2008, 2012.

Francesc ‘Cesc’ Fabregas may be the biggest star to come out of Arsenal in recent times. The Spanish midfielder joined Arsenal’s youth team in 2003 from Barcelona and eventually broke into the first team later that year. Between 2003 and 2011, he made 303 appearances, racked up 95 assists and scored 57 goals.

From a young age coming out of Barcelona’s academy, Cesc was tipped for greatness. He didn’t disappoint, during his time at Arsenal, he developed into one of the world’s best midfielders.

He made his Arsenal debut in 2004 and quickly established himself as part of Wenger’s team. His vision, passing and ability to read the game set him apart from the rest and he quickly became a fan favorite and was given the captaincy in 2008.

He was part of Spain’s Golden Generation that won the World Cup in 2006, 2010 and 2014 and won the European Championship in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Fabregas didn’t win much during his time at Arsenal, he joined the club after the invincible season, and only managed two community shields. He would later join the list of Arsenal players that left the club and went on to win many more trophies. He even joined London rivals Chelsea and won two Premier League titles with them. Despite this, Arsenal fans still hold Cesc close to their hearts and he’ll go down as an Arsenal legend, and one of the best Arsenal players of all-time.

2. Patrick Viera

Position: Centre Midfielder
Years Active:1993 - 2011
Teams: Cannes, AC Milan, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan, Manchester City
Awards: Premier League 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04, FA Cup 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, Community Shield 1998, 1999, 2002, PFA Team of the Year 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, Premier League Player of the Season 2000-01, UEFA Team of the Year 2001, French Player of the Year 2001, Premier League Hall of Fame, Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade 1992-93, 2001-02, Premier League Team of the Decade 1992-93, 2001-02, Arsenal Player of the Season 2000-01, English Football Hall of Fame, Golden Foot Legends Award.

Patrick Viera is a 6ft 4inch commanding centre midfielder that patrolled the midfield for both France and Arsenal. He joined the Gunners in 1996 and would go on to make 402 appearances for them. Viera is considered one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.

Viera was part of the Arsenal Invincibles team and helped the club win four FA Cups and three League titles. He had the perfect balance of strength and skill, similarly to Bergkamp, Viera oozed class. His physical prescence terrified defenders and when he wanted to be aggressive, he could be.

His aggression was always on display whenever he came face to face with Manchester United’s Roy Keane. The two of them had a bitter rivalry and he is beloved by Arsenal fans for his part in that rivalry.

Viera was named in the Premier League PFA Team of the year for six consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2004. He won the World Cup with France in 1998 and the Euro’s in 2004.

He eventually left Arsenal and had spells in Italy and briefly with Manchester City where he retired and took control of their academy. He’s now currently a manager and has managed New York City FC, Nice, Crystal Palace and is currently the manager of Strasbourg. There was hope amongst Arsenal fans that he would one day return to Arsenal as a manager, but it his managerial record isn’t nearly as impressive as his playing career, and he probably won’t reach a standard high enough to manage Arsenal.

Viera will go down in history as a Premier League and Arsenal all-time great, adored by the Arsenal fanbase.

1. Thierry Henry

Position: Forward
Years Active: 1994 – 2014

Teams: Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona, New York Red Bulls
Awards: Premier League 2001-02, 2003-04 FA Cup 2001-02, 2002-03, Community Shield 2002, 2004, Ballon d’Or Runner up 2003, European Golden Shoe 2003-04, 2004-05, Onze d’Or 2003, 2006, PFA Players Player of the Year 2002-03, 2003-04, PFA Fans Player of the Year 2002-03, 2003-04, PFA Team of the Year 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, PFA Team of the Century 1907-2007, FWA Footballer of the Year 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, Premier League Player of the Season 2003-04, 2005-06, Premier League Golden Boot 2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, Premier League Most Assists 2002-03, Arsenal Player of the Season 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, BBC Goal of the Season 2002-03, UEFA Team of the Year 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, French Player of the Year 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, IFFHS Worlds Top Goal Scorer of the Year 2003, FIFA FIFPro World XI 2006, English Football Hall of Fame, Overseas Team of the Decade, UEFA Euro All-time X1 2016, Premier League Hall of Fame.

Thierry Henry tops the all-time greatest Arsenal players list, and how can he not? Henry is a Frenchman who played for Arsenal from 1997 to 2007. He is widely considered as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Henry had that certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ about him. He glided around the pitch effortlessly and slotted away goals like there was no tomorrow.

He made 377 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 228 goals and 103 assists. He is Arsenal’s leading goal scorer; he won the Golden Boot a record four times and was part of the invincible Arsenal squad that won the league. He was the FIFA World Player of the Year twice in 2003 and 2004.

Name a type of goal, Henry has scored it. From delicate chips to thumping long range strikes, Henry would find the back of the net. He took over this Arsenal team and was their talisman for a decade. Henry is the kind of player that only comes around once in a generation. He was on the same level as the likes of Mbappe but arguably more consistent.

When Henry first joined Arsenal, he was nowhere near being the prolific scorer we know he is today. He was a shifty winger that had pace to spare. Under Arsene Wenger’s guidance, he transformed Henry into a world class striker.

Henry took over the captain’s armband from Patrick Viera in 2005 and almost led the Arsenal team to their first Champions League Trophy. Unfortunately, they fell short on the last hurdle and lost in the final but he did eventually go on to win the Champions League with Barcelona.

Henry was France’s record goal scorer until his record was eclipsed by Olivier Giroud, another former Arsenal player earlier this year. He won the 1998 World Cup with them and the 2000 Euros.

In 2012, Henry returned to Arsenal on loan from New York Red Bulls for a few games. Historically, he came on as a sub and found the back of the net. A moment of history was made that day and Henry further cemented himself in the hearts of the Arsenal faithful.

Henry has a statue of himself outside of the Emirates for his contribution to the club, he is the greatest Arsenal player of all time.