Top 5 Arsenal Players in Premier League History
The greatest Arsenal players throughout Premier League history
Kicking off a new series of top five players in Premier League history for their respective clubs, and next up we’re looking at the top 5 Arsenal players in Premier League history.
5. Ian Wright (1991-1998)
The much-loved former player turned pundit is an Arsenal legend through and through. Having joined the club in 1991 after six years spent with Crystal Palace, Wright made an instant impact, scoring on his club debut as well as netting a hat-trick on his league debut against Southampton.
Wright ended up scoring 24 goals with Arsenal in the league, and 29 in total. Five of these 29 were scored in a Crystal Palace shirt. The former England international was one of the most complete strikers in his time at Arsenal. Blessed with pace and an ability to score with both feet, Wright could terrorise defences any day of the week.
He won his first piece of silverware with Arsenal in his sophomore season- the FA Cup in a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, where Wright scored the opening goal of the game.
By the end of his tenure with Arsenal, Wright not only won five awards, including the Premier League title in 1998, but he also left Highbury as Arsenal’s leading top scorer in history with 185 goals.
In his current role as a pundit, Wright reps Arsenal at every opportunity and remains a revered player and personality at Arsenal.
4. Tony Adams (1983-2002)
Tony Adams is one of the most legendary captains in Arsenal history- and I feel guilty putting him only fourth on this list given his fantastic achievements- but I’m confident you’ll understand once you see the top three!
Having spent his entire 19-year professional career with Arsenal, Mr. Arsenal is one of five Arsenal legends to be immortalised outside the Emirates Stadium in the form of a statue.
Adams remains the only player in English football history to have captained a title-winning team in three different decades- which is just amazing. The former England international epitomised what a centre back should be, and what a leader should be, too. No nonsense, aggressive, assured- that’s just a few adjectives to describe Adams.
He’s also the creator of one of football’s great quotes:
“Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they will remember the name on the back.”
You can’t describe the great Tony Adams better than that!
3. Patrick Vieira (1996-2005)
Patrick Vieira, in my opinion, is one of the top three greatest midfielders in Premier League history. The man could do absolutely everything. He was a physically imposing figure of a man with the technical ability of a Brazilian who played futsal all his life, I think people seem to forget; Vieira arrived at Arsenal just two years after starting his professional career with Cannes in France.
We witnessed the growth and evolution of a player who became one of the best in his position and solidified his legacy as a true great.
Vieira won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups as well as achieving the double twice. He was also named in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year for six consecutive years (1999-2004) which is amazing when you understand the depth of the midfield position with which Vieira was competing.
Vieira was also voted Premier League Player of the Season in 2001 and remains just one of three French players to win the award, alongside former teammate Thierry Henry and Chelsea lynchpin N’Golo Kante. Vieira is a player Arsenal have tried (and failed) to replace multiple times since his departure in 2006- and it remains to be seen whether they can ever replace somebody like Patrick Vieira.
2. Dennis Bergkamp (1995-2006)
Arriving a year earlier than Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp is as much of a legend as his French counterpart and was an integral part of Arsenal’s rise to become a Premier League powerhouse under Arsene Wenger.
The ‘Non-Flying Dutchman’ as Arsenal fans lovingly called him due to his fear of flying, Bergkamp made an underwhelming start to his Arsenal career, failing to score in his first six league matches and coming under fire by the national media. The Dutchman recovered from the slump and ended the season with 11 goals in 33 games.
In the following seasons, Bergkamp became one of Arsenal’s main goal threats alongside Ian Wright, and netted 16 goals in 28 games in the 1997/98 double-winning season in what were his first trophies for the North London club.
However, Bergkamp was much more than goals. His intelligence on the football pitch, his vision, and just utter brilliance was must-see TV, and his excellence in Arsenal’s first double-winning season was rewarded with PFA Player of the Year.
Alongside Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp is another one of the five players who are immortalised outside the Emirates- and he will never be forgotten by Arsenal fans.
1. Thierry Henry (1999-2006)
In my humble opinion, Thierry Henry is the greatest player to ever play in the Premier League… and I’m pretty sure I’ve admitted this in previous articles. He’s also one of the greatest French players of all time, without a doubt.
Like Bergkamp, Henry endured a tough start to his Arsenal career after failing to score in his first eight games as well as coming off an £11 million transfer fee.
Henry himself admitted that he would have to “be re-taught everything about the art of striking”. And boy did he! He ended his first season with 26 goals in all competitions and then went on a run for about six and a half years where he was consistently one of the best players in the world.
Henry was a massive part of the 2001/02 double Arsenal achieved and attained statistical greatness the following season.
Henry netted 24 goals and contributed 20 assists in a season where this was previously unheard of by a striker. The Frenchman set the assist record and 18 years later, it has yet to be broken with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne equalling the record in the 2019/20 season.
Perhaps the record Henry is most proud of making- and breaking- is Ian Wright’s record of being Arsenal’s record goalscorer, with Henry ending his Arsenal career (both stints) with 228 goals in total.
