Forget Wenger – Pick your all time best Arsenal XI

My best Arsenal team of all time by Bolivian Gunner

I want to start this post by letting you guys know that I consider myself a huge fan of Arsenal although I have never lived in England. I first fell in love with the Bergkamp and Anelka duet, they were just simply magnificent together. They would complement each other amazingly, it was easy to understand the way that Bergkamp played the game. He was very decisive in Anelka’s career those two first Years. Consider that Anelka was only 18 years old and it was such a beauty to see him run towards the goal, his definition was clinical.

And what to say about Bergkamp? He was just pure class. Elegance, first touch and speed of mind. Emmanuel Petit was played in the Midfield and Overmars would run down the sides. Petit and Vieira were such an amazing pair; one would hold the attackers and the other one would come with a clinical tackle followed by a beautiful through pass to one of the two Strikers. Watching Patrick Vieira playing defense and organizing attack was just incredible he would raise his eyes and you would know that a great play was just about to come. He got us used to watching great football.

I would love for some of you to talk about your favorite teams or your favorite players because we’ve been talking about AW for just too long (I dont want to even say the full name anymore but I am using capital letters abbreviated to show that I respect the glory years and the achievements).

It would be very nice to know about the best XI of all time I would love to know the best XI of the Arsenal. I’m going to give mine right away. Thank you for taking the time to read these lines and a warm greeting to my friends in Europe from South America

——————————-Seaman—————————–
V Bronkhorst–—Campbell–-Adams—–Monreal
——————-Vieira———— Gilberto Silva——————
—————————–Cazorla—————————–
—-Overmars———Bergkamp———–Henry—-

Subs: Lehman, Van persie, Rosicky, Anelka, Winterburn, Dixon, Kanu.

Whay would be your best Arsenal XI of all time?

Bolivian Gunner

59 Comments

  1. Pires is arguably the best winger Arsenal have had in the past 20 seasons.

    3 consecutive seasons scoring 14 goals, add another +10 assists as well. He has to be in.

    Monreal over Cole? I know Cole doesn’t inspire support but that,doesn’t change the fact that he’s the best English LB in this millenium.

    Shout to Ljungberg as,well. Very underrated.

    1. cole was the best in the world in his position-monreal not even close
      i remember watching pires at highbury an lots of ppl my dad included thought he was dud at first took him a good while
      how wrong can we be- he was jaw dropping,

      man didnt even put liam brady on the sub bench- mental lol

  2. Cech
    Bellerin..kosc..mustf..monreal
    Xhaka…Eleny..Wilshere
    Ozil…Iwobi
    Welbeck
    ?????????????

  3. Firstly, let’s forget the “all time”. I have been attending since 1958 and I have not seen all the greats who went before then. So full time is meaningless. I will therefore pick mine back to 1958 and many millenials and kids will pick from only a handful of years. So here goes , in 4-2-4 formation, with second choice in brackets. Seaman( Kelsey), Viv Anderson(Dixon), Sansom( Cole), Adams(O’Leary), Bould(Sol Campbell), Viera (Petit), Brady( Eastham), Overmars( Ljungberg) Bergkamp(Joe Baker) Henry(Wright) Pires ( George Armstrong). I have included first names, for some, for the sake of those who will not have heard of them , including the article writer for certain. My Wenger only eleven (played under him) is this: Seaman, Dixon, Cole, Adams, Bould, Viera, Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Henry, Pires. I also would pick my top three teams as the 1998, 2002, 2004 in that order. Worst three under Wenger, first the present team,second last years team , third the year before last team. If he stays another season , this years team will become surely the second worst team.

    1. To John Fox’s team some great old players there,George Eastham superb player,remember this forward line in old fashioned formation McLeod Strong Baker Eastham Skirton,scored goals for fun,we could’nt defend but great to watch

      1. No Cliff Bastin, Charley Geoerge, Alan Ball. I had all those lads on my wall, also Liam Brady Frank Stapelton and Alan Sunderland. As well as the late 80s team and 1990’s team and jersey’s. All gone now, went when I got interested in the opposite sex. Never got to hang up anyone from The Great & Invincible years, though some were with us through 80-90s-00s.

        1. I never saw Cliff Bastin. My late father thought him our best player ever. Alan Ball was very good but rarely a great in his Arsenal days. George is way below best eleven level and though a true fan , is chiefly remembered for the winner in 1971 Cup Final and for falling out big time with Bertie Mee, our manager from 1966-1975, before Terry Neill. Stapleton was a very good, but not great player and Sunderland nothing special at the level we are talking about.

      2. In 1963/64 this team scored 90 goals and conceded 84 in 42 games in Division One. I may be a year out , possibly. Baker and Strong were our equal top league scorers with 26 each!

    2. Jon I despair that many of today’s fans never saw Liam Brady play. Unfortunately he was a shining light in the team in which he played. I also loved George Armstrong, but would have to have Gilberto Silva (much underrated player) and the great captain Frank McLintock added somewhere to your squad. It’s a shame when no place can be found for Peter Simpson, Bob McNab, Pat Rice, Martin Keown, David Platt, David Rocastle and the Romford Pele, all of whom would walk into the current side.

      1. Brady and roecastle two of my heros ,,,, always though to compare across time but in their day they could have walked in to any team anywhere which is not true of any of the current crop

      2. Yes Ozzie, they would indeed walk into todays team. I made Frank McLintock a very close miss behind the ones I chose and Peter Simpson would havehad loads of England caps but for Bobby Moore and Norman Hunter. Gooners of that era knew how great he was and for me another very near all time miss from best eleven.

    3. Jon, as you know we began watching Arsenal in the same era and I could not agree with you more with your selections. You’ve absolutely nailed it with players you’ve picked from the late fifties to seventies and also players under Arsene Wenger. The youngsters have probably never heard of the likes of Jack Kelsey, George Eastham, Joe Baker and George Armstrong but without doubt were all truly great players and could certainly be mentioned along side the great Invincibles. In a way you’ve actually spoilt it for me because there’s no point in me picking a side because it would be exactly the same as yours.

      1. KENNY, I knew the great Geordie Armstrong a little, as I lived near him. He and his wife Marjory were special human beings and he was by far the best ever uncapped Arsenal player. A travesty he never won an England full cap. HARDEST WORKING PLAYER WE EVER HAD, IMO.

    4. Hey
      What about me
      Alan Ball…world cup winner
      Small but a tiger in the tackle not pulled out of anything a leader of men. A ball winner
      A ball carrier
      A midfielder who wouldn’t look out of place in any arsenal team
      And oh yes ..loved chippy brady….. a total got for us
      Was there when he scored that stunner against the spuds and I think win goal of the season

    5. I am in total agreement with the way you have finished it. If he stays another 3 years, we will be in the championship

  4. Lehmann
    Sagna Campbell Kosicelny Cole
    Fabregas Viera
    Sanchez Bergkamp Henry
    RVP
    Bench of Almunia Rosicky Toure Ozili Giroud Arshavin Song

  5. JENS LEHMAN

    LEE DIXON -TONY ADAMS -SOL CAMPBELL-ASHLEY COLE

    FREDDIE LJUNBERG-PATRICK VIERA

    DENNIS BERGKAMP-CESC FABREGAS-ROBERT PIRES

    THIERRY HENRY

  6. …………………Seaman
    Lauren . Campbell . Adams . Cole
    Ljungberg . Vieira . Gilberto . Overmars
    ………………..Bergkamp
    …………………..Henry

    Subs: Lehman, Van Persie, Pires, Cazorla, Bould, Sanchez, Monreal, Parlour

    1. A decent team overall. But you must be joking to put Monreal in that company! I agree that Nacho is by far our best defender this season and probably last too, but that is not saying much is it!, BUT to put him ahead of Samsom , Winterburn and many others too, just shows how youthful you are. That is the trouble with so called “all time teams”. I am virtually a dinosaur and even I have not seen more than half the players who ever played for us. But even in Wengers time, Monreal sticks out in that company like a sore thumb. Surely? You remember Bould so you must also remember Winterburn. No comparison; he was head and shoulders above Monreal.

      1. Because I have never heard of Samsom and never seen Winterburn played, but I have seen videos about Bould

        You know about our best players better than me Jon, because you have been supporting Arsenal since 1958 (!), whereas I started to watch Arsenal from 2001 only

        I believe you know what is the cure for Arsenal’s current problems, because you have seen how the previous managers managed Arsenal before Wenger. The kids here have never experienced pre-Wenger era, so most of them (including me) don’t know Arsenal’s hard path to glory

        1. Read a book “The history of Arsenal” by Martin Tyler and Phil Soar, you’ll be enlightened

        2. Kenny Sansom was by some distance our best ever left back, at least in my time. He won over eighty England caps and made Ashley Cole look ordinary, which he was not, by comparison. You should read the old books (though some are now out of print, I expect) to further your knowledge of older players. My late Dad raved about Alex James, Cliff Bastin , Eddie Hapgood and Ted Drake who all played in the thirties. They were all true legends and Drake scored 7 goals and hit the bar with the eighth shot he had when we won AT Villa, 7-1 in a famous game. Arsenal was going 110 years before we had ever heard of Wenger and that is one reaason I reject all those who think Arsenal history is all about him. Our greatest manager by far was Herbert Chapman who won three league titles in a row at Huddersfield before becoming our manager in 1925. Chapman also played for Spurs. Next best was George Allison, who managed next after Chapman died aged 53 (or 54, I can”t remember which).

  7. you know our best 11 was most of wengers french revolution and a world cup wiining side

    we should have won a champions league
    the fact we didnt still haunts us

  8. Andrey Arshavin, Carlos Vela,Eduardo,Alex Song.Bacary Sagna,Lukas Podolski …………………………………………………………………………………………………… and more

  9. I’m sorry Monreal and Cazola won’t make it. Please find a place for Cole, Edu, Pires, Laurent, Van persie, Cesc, Helb. some of these guys need to be in the starting eleven and some should make the best ever bench

    1. Of your list only Pires, who I chose, Cole, and Fabregas belong anywhere near the best eleven standard. Even Santi, though a smashing player is not in that class . Nor RvP. TRUST ME , I HAVE SEEN MANY BETTER THAN THOSE. Hleb would not even be in my tenth best ever Arsenal team. Really!

  10. Since I have been watching Arsenal:

    Lehmann
    Lauren Campbell Adams Cole
    Alexis Gilberto Vieira Pires
    Bergkamp
    Henry

    Subs: Seaman, Keown, Dixon, Cesc, Santi, Ljungberg, Wright

  11. Monreal????? ????

    If we are going to talk best ever then Cole would be it but like a lot of articles this seems like to recent a fan base. While I am not old – our best 11 would most probably be majority outside of post Wenger era.

    1. Sorry by ‘not old’ I meant not old enough to watch them live (unforunately!). But our century+ history hasn’t better lb’s than monreal – even though I am a fan

      1. Robin old son, you have no idea what you are talking about with Monreal. He is not remotely even anywhere near the class of Cole or Winterburn. You insult them by mentioning Monreal in the same breath. Eddie Hapgood in the thirties was by common consent a true great , an England captain and won loads of honours. It is an obscenity to compare Monreal with him.

  12. when we were kings we just knew we could turn everyone over – seems that momentum is now with citeh; we need change – i want ancelotti installed on a lengthy contract. Until he is we’ll go on romanticising about all our yesterdays. i’ve seen us in our pomp, ie at our best – i’d like to witness another imposing and resplendent arsenal side… but i can’t see another side comprised by arsene wenger not while there’s other managers with their finger on the pulse as a far as top international quality players and tactics are concerned.

      1. i hope so gunner Sue – although wenger has left us with an up-hill task if we’re to be considered to be among international trophy and domestic title competing elite.

  13. ………………..Admn
    Hafiz..3rdManJW..JonFox..Soopa
    ………..McLoven..Muffdiver
    Waal2Waal……………….RVPayslip
    …………..Innit..GotanIdea

    Bench..Sue..Avenger..Fab..SarsfieldNY..NYGunner..ArsenalGirl..Nayr
    Manager..Bob
    A.Manager..Pat

      1. But Hafiz you are there as RB! Calling the shots about how we should buy 400 million worth of players! Or did it change with the new house of Ibrahim?!

          1. John, was making a second string team but thought yourself, Quantic D, Konstantin and others would be more offended by it and then try to get Bob the sack if I didn’t start you.

  14. Maybe there are things that we don’t know why Wenger would stay manger next year and after all these years… I honestly stopped asking myself why Arsenal is moving backward or why the board are not able to take them responsibility…Before I was thinking maybe this is because of the human greed and the money?…and somtimes I thought…is it because Wenger is at the high level of free massons…or Is it because of the fans’s fault…I honestly don’t know and the sad thing is that now I don’t want to know. But what it does hurt is the fact that the next year Hatem Ben arfa would go and play for Leicester for free and probably will go to become the best player of the PL…or maybe Fakir from Lyon would end up playing for Tottenham and give them another strength in depth..and maybe Fabregas would be sold to ManU …etc…etc and our Wenger would be just watching once again and waiting for someone to come to buy from him his best players…meaning that he would probably sell Ozil this time…the same scenario all over again.

  15. lets enjoy the win…and focus on the next game….

    we are kind of a burn out…already played 5 games in 14 days

    and facing our 6 th game in 17 days

  16. I only have knowledge of players since the 90s with the exception of Liam Brady

    Seriously would put Seaman over Lehman for sentimental reasons, but Lehman was better.

    I could NEVER put Cashley Cole on my list, nor Nasri, Cesc, Toure, Adebayor (lol), Sagna, Gallas and RVP

    A MUST on my list = Viera, Henry, Bergkamp, Cazorla and Brady

    ……………….Seaman
    Lauren..Adams…Campbell….Dixon
    ……………Viera…Silva
    …………Cazorla ….Brady
    ……….Henry…Bergkamp

    Bench: Lehman, Koscielny, Sansom, Rosicky, Pires, Lungberg, Wright

    I kinda didn’t want to put Silva on the list because he hardly ever tackled. He wasn’t a complete defensive midfielder. Viera was more of a complete footballer. I wanted to put Cazorla in his spot and Pires up front with henry, Bergkamp BUT Cazorla is box2box or CAM and we need a def mid so i put Silva in.

    Honourable mentions who didn’t make list
    Winterburn
    Wiltord
    Alexis (helped us win 2 FA Cups and one of our hardest workers ever)
    Giroud (helped us win. 3 and 105 goals)
    Mertsacker (was amazing with Koscielny for 2 years)
    Overmars
    Vermaelen
    Keown
    Van Bronkhurst

  17. Other players worthy of mention include Alan Ball, Rice, Mclintock, Charlie George, George Graham, Radford, Storey. Michael Thomas for one goal, Paul Davis for one punch. We could do with players like Peter Storey and Alan Ball now. What a difference just those 2 players would make to our current team.

    1. Jimmy Jazz you just took me right back there. I can see the newspaper headline which read Arsenal get a new Ball for Christmas.!! Peter Storey, Peter Simpson and has anyone mentioned SuperMac yet? Hell we had some good ones back then, Redford and Kennedy, Rocky dear Rocky, Bob Wilson, Charlie Nicholas, Peter Marinello. I could fill this place with past greats.

      1. Malcolm Macdonald! They dont build players like him anymore. I think he still is the only Englishman to score 5 goals in one competitive international.

  18. Here is my list, from my Era. Players in bracket are subs.
    Seaman (Lehman)
    Lauren (Eboue), Adams (Campbell) , Keown (Kocielny), Cole (Monreal)
    Viera (Fabregas), Petit (Rosicky)
    Overmars (Ljunberg), Henry (Wright), Bergkamp (Kanu), Pires (Sanchez)
    Honourable mentions to;
    Giberto, Edu, Eduardo, Ashavin, Toure, Ozil, Song, xleb

  19. Number One is PERRY GROVES
    Number Two is PERRY GROVES
    Number Three is PERRY GROVES
    Number Four is PERRY GROVES
    Number Five is PERRY GROVES
    Number Six is PERRY GROVES
    Number Seven is LIAM BRADY
    Number Eight is PERRY GROVES
    Number Nine is PERRY GROVES
    Number Ten is PERRY GROVES
    Number Eleven is. PERRY GROVES

    ALL TOGETHER NOW….
    WE ALL LIVE IN A PERRY GROVES WORLD etc etc

    1. Well, Liam Brady, alone obviously doesn’t! For ten bonus points tell me who Perry’s uncle was who played for us in 50′ and 60s.

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