Arsenal’s four best ever midfielders?

Arsenal’s Best Ever Midfielders

Arsenal have been a mainstay in the top flight of English football for a number of years and as such, have had a vast list of top talents from around the world. This doesn’t come as a surprise due to the fact they’ve won 13 top flight trophies and 14 FA cups, a club of Arsenal’s size will always attract big named players.

Whilst lists of a team’s top players are always going to be disputed, in this article we’ll be discussing some of Arsenal’s best ever midfielders.

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Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2003 as a youth prospect from Barcelona aged just 16. Fabregas originally struggled to settle in England but formed a friendship with teammate Senderos who helped him get used to his new surroundings.

Following his breakout season in 2006, Fabregas continued to become involved more and more frequently following the departure of Patrick Vieira. However midway through the 2008 season, Fabregas would be handed the captains armband aged just 21 taking over from William Gallas.

Fabregas won numerous individual awards such as Arsenal’s player of the season in 2007, the PFA young player of the year for the 2008 season and was included in the team of the season in 2008 and 2010.

In 2011, Fabregas decided to return home with a move back to Barcelona confirmed, where he would spend 3 years before moving to Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea. Whilst this may have tarnished how the fans viewed him, this doesn’t take away from the quality he showed at such a young age.

Emanuel Petit

Petit spent just three seasons at Arsenal, however in this time he proved he was one of the best midfielders around. Joining from Monaco in 1997, Petit made 85 appearances for Arsenal, scoring nine goals. A defensive midfielder who could also play at left back, was an anchor in midfield for the gunners and allowed other players around him to flourish.

In 1998, Petit won both the premier league with Arsenal and the World Cup with France, his two biggest achievements.

Following three successful seasons at Arsenal, Petit moved on to Barcelona where he spent just one season before moving to Chelsea, where he spent three seasons before retiring.

Much like Fabregas, despite moving to rivals Chelsea, this didn’t diminish how Petit was viewed in terms of quality.

Robert Pires

Pires moved to Arsenal later in his career than most on this list as he was 27 when he joined the gunners. Joining from Marseille in 2000, he went on to make 189 appearances scoring 62 goals. Pires played most of his career on the left side of midfield and was a handful for defenders. During his time at Arsenal, Pires won the Premier League twice in 2002 and the famous Invincible season in 2004 where they went unbeaten all season.

Following six successful seasons with Arsenal, aged 33 he left to join Villareal. He would also play into his early 40’s playing for clubs such as Aston Villa and Fc Goa where he would retire aged 42.

Patrick Vieira

Surely he had to be in this list right? Vieira joined Arsenal from AC Milan aged just 22 and went on to make 279 appearances. Vieira is classed as one of the best ever players to play in the premier league, commanding the midfield for just under ten years. During his time with Arsenal, he won the Premier League three times and the FA cup four times. He was also included in the PFA team of the year six times along with the PFA player of the year in 2002.

In 2022 Vieira was included in the Premier League Hall of Fame, with only 18 other players ever to be included such as Steven Gerrard and Thierry Henry.

Compared to other Premier League greats such as Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Roy Keane and Frank Lampard, some would say that, apart from Viera, these other Arsenal Greats would be just slightly behind them. Nevertheless, this doesn’t take away from the fact they were incredible players and have had a long lasting impact on the prestige of the premier league for years.

Arsenal have had some incredibly gifted midfielders over the years, and with Arsenal not yet at the peak of their powers as they once were, who knows whether Odegaard and Rice could join this list in the future?