5 Best Arsenal Players Of All Time
I have compiled a list of the 5 players who I think have been the best footballers to ever play for Arsenal.
Please bear in mind that I’m only 22, so I will not be including people like Charlie Nicholas and Liam Brady, as I’m not old enough to have seen them in action.
So, starting with number 5, let’s look at the best players in the past 20 years to put on a Gunners shirt…
Number 5 – Marc Overmars
This guy could run all day, and loved to take people on on the wings. He made life hell for any defenders who he ran at him, when it came to the big occasion, Overmars rarely failed to deliver. He was the outstanding performer at Old Trafford in March 1998 as Arsenal took the game to Manchester United and emerged with a 1-0 win. Overmars netted the vital goal after threatening to score on numerous occasions; the result swung the title balance in Arsenal’s favour.. Top bloke in my book!
Number 4 – Patrick Vieira
Another relative unknown arrived at Highbury in late 1996 alongside Arsène Wenger. His name was Patrick Vieira and, together with his new manager, the midfielder went on to reshape the complexion of the Club, embarking on a journey to two domestic Doubles and an historic unbeaten Premier League campaign.The composure and quality of his passing meant that, as well as quelling the threat of the opposition, Patrick became a vital cog in Wenger’s forward-thrusting machine. There were few more graceful sights in football than Vieira holding off an opponent in a congested midfield before flicking the ball over his head and racing away downfield to spark another Arsenal attack. He was simply a class act.
Number 3 – Ian Wright
The Arsenal legend always found a way to find the net, whether it required a sumptuous 30-yard chip or a toe-poke from two yards. Wright’s repertoire of goals made him one of the finest – and most explosive – strikers to grace the English game. And, of course, he was a showman. Wright was a force of nature on and off the pitch, assuming the mantle of practical joker in the dressing room and choreographing a string of theatrical goal celebrations. No wonder Arsenal fans loved ‘Ian Wright Wright Wright’. Wright scored on his Arsenal debut in the League Cup at Leicester, bagged a hat-trick on his League debut at Southampton and soon had the Highbury faithful eating out of his hand from thereon-in.
Number 2 – Denis Bergkamp
Bergkamp redefined football in England’s top division. His textbook technique, physical prowess and second-nature for picking out the killer pass made him the ultimate symbol of fantasy football. The swivel at St James’, the lob against Leverkusen — goals coming just four days apart — the Filbert Street finale and of course the belter against Bolton that assured Arsenal a place in Europe. Everything Bergkamp did oozed class. Without him, my number 1 selection would not have been the massive success that he was…
Number 1 – Thierry Henry
The Frenchman had exquisite technique, searing pace and surprising strength. And like the typical schoolboy superstar, he did pretty much everything for his team. Henry was the captain, the talisman, the dead-ball expert, the penalty-taker and the assist-maker. Then there’s the goals, a club record 226 of them to be precise, in just 380 games. And what a portfolio Henry built up during his eight years as Arsenal. Thumping drives, delicate chips, jinking runs, audacious backheels, even the odd header – the Frenchman had many of ways to find the net. He also came back this season to turn Arsenal’s fortunes around by banging in crucial goals at crucial times, before jetting back off to New York to ply his trade state-side. The best ever – King Henry.
