Founded in 1886, 136 years ago, arsenal spanning three centuries, is one of the oldest clubs in world football.
This long-standing club has produced many world-renowned superstars in football, and in arsenal's 136-year history, which players can rank in the top 20 in the history of the team?
20. Gilberto Silva (Brazil)
Effectiveness: 2002-2008
Appearances: 243
Goals: 24, assists: 13
Professor Wenger once said that Silva was the most underrated player he had ever worked with. Arsenal were Silva's first stop in Europe, but he showed tactical execution rarely seen among South American players.
Silva swept in obscurity behind attacking midfielders and stepped forward resolutely on counter-attacks, and was one of the founders of Arsenal's myth of 49 Premier League unbeaten games.
Silva doesn't show up when he's on the pitch, but when he's not there, you feel a huge drop in the team.
19. Bob Wilson (Scotland)
Played: 1963-1974
Appearances: 73
Goals conceded: 82, clean sheets: 23 games
Wilson was an Arsenal veteran who was a teacher before joining the Gunners. When he moved to Arsenal from Wolves, the transfer fee reached the peak of £6,000 for amateur players at the time.
Wilson came to Arsenal primarily as a substitute for Goalkeeper Vonnell until three years later. In 1971, Wilson reached the peak of his career as a key player under Betty Mi, winning the double for Arsenal.
Wilson continued to serve Arsenal after retiring, serving as the club's goalkeeper coach for 28 years. In 2007, Wilson was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his outstanding work in football.
18. Alain Smith (England)
Played in: 1987-1995
Appearances: 173
Goals: 97, assists: 14
Smith is a rare gentleman in the rough and brash Premier League, and he has only received one yellow card in his career.
As a striker, Smith won two League One titles, one FA Cup and one Cup Winners' Cup at Arsenal, as well as two League One top scorers.
17. David Rocastle (England)
Effectiveness: 1984-1992
Appearances: 218
Rocastle is only 176cm tall and has a thin body, which seems to be easily submerged in the muscular English green field, but he uses his speed and technical advantages to break through the right side of arsenal's midfield.
Rocastle was one of Arsenal's two League One titles in 1989 and 1991. Gunners fans gave him the nickname "Rock" in recognition of his strong will on the court.
Unfortunately, Rocastle died of illness after one year of retirement, at the age of 33.
16. Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland)
Played: 1977-1985
Appearances: 327
Goals conceded: ---, clean sheets: ---
Jennings has never been a goalkeeper with a strong personality, but he has a strong sense of position on the goal line, and he can make a save with little need to move in the game.
Arsenal were at a low point during Jennings' time, having won the FA Cup once, but that didn't obliterate Jennings' place in Arsenal and English football history.
15. Pat Rice (Northern Ireland)
Played in: 1968-1981
Appearances: 397
Goals: 12, assists: ---
Although Rice has been very humble enough to say that at least 30 players in Arsenal history should be ahead of him, he deserves the position.
As one of the greatest right-backs in team history, Rice served in the Arsenal for 14 years. Les has a League One honour and has played for Arsenal in a number of major tournament finals, but has only brought back two FA Cup titles for the club.
However, Rice saw more of the Gunners' winning moments after becoming Wenger's assistant in 1996.
14. Palor (England)
Effectiveness: 1991-2004
Appearances: 444
Goals: 29, assists: 26
The highlight of Paroll's career came in the 2001/02 season. In this season's FA Cup final, Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 and Paroll scored a goal. Subsequently, in the key battle to visit Old Trafford and lock up the Premier League title in advance, Palo was named the best player on the spot, supporting the Gunners to capture the Red Devils 1-0 away.
Paroll scored another double for Arsenal in a week with an excellent performance.
13. Saul Campbell (England)
Effectiveness: 2001-2006, 2010
Appearances: 211
Goals: 12, assists: 8
Campbell's signing was arguably the best deal in Arsenal history, switching to Arsenal at the age of 26 as a free agent from London rivals Tottenham, and years later, Spurs fans are still haunted by Campbell's defection.
In 2003/04, Arsenal won the Premier League title unbeaten. In the penultimate round of the season, the Gunners visited White Hart Lane and Campbell beat Tottenham hotspur with his teammates amid huge boos from White Lily fans to win the Premier League title three rounds in advance. Witnessing the nemesis win the title at his home stadium, Campbell was firmly nailed to the traitor's shame column by Tottenham fans.
12. Frederick Ljungberg (Sweden)
Played: 1998-2007
Appearances: 302
Goals: 68, Assists: 38
Ljungberg always stood up in key games to win for the Gunners and as a midfielder he was very efficient in scoring goals. Not only can Ljungberg run up and down the right side, but his physical strength allows him to cover a very wide area.
Ljungberg brought arsenal two Premier League titles and three FA Cup titles and was revered by Arsenal fans as a "super Swede". Ljungberg came to Arsenal with a slightly punk-style cockscomb head until he shaved his head after early thanks, which was a testament to his annual campaign for the Gunners.
11. David O'Reilly (Ireland)
Played: 1975-1993
Appearances: 722
Goals: 10, assists: ---
The record of 722 Arsenal appearances set by O'Reilly is unprecedented, and it is difficult for any player to break it in the future. The strictly disciplined O'Reilly is an evergreen in football and one should also be recognised as one of the greatest defenders in Arsenal history when remembering his record.
O'Reilly debuted for the Gunners at the age of 17, constantly breaking the team's all-time record, becoming 100, 200 games... Milestone youngest player.
10. Cliff Bastin (England)
Played in: 1930-1946
Appearances: 395
Goals: 178, assists: ---
Bastion is one of arsenal's greatest strikers, having played for the Gunners for the first time at the age of 18, nearly a hundred years ago. Just look at Bastin's goal efficiency and you think he's a centre-forward, but in fact, in the tactical play of that era, he was a left-winger, not the closest killer to the opposing goal.
Nearly fifty years after Bastin retired, his Arsenal all-time goal record was broken.
9. Charlie George (England)
Played: 1969-1975
Appearances: 160
Goals: 52, assists: ---
When George was a kid watching Arsenal in the stands, he set his sights on becoming a gunner, and before he turned 19, he fulfilled his wish.
In the 1971 FA Cup final, George scored a goal to help Arsenal beat Liverpool to win the cup. That season, George won the double for Arsenal as an attacking midfielder and sounded the clarion call for club revival.
George has been affected by intermittent injuries and has failed to cash in on his full talent, but he deserves to be remembered by Arsenal fans forever.
8. David Seaman (England)
Effectiveness: 1990-2003
Appearances: 482
Goals conceded: 415, clean sheets: 195 games
When Seaman moved to Arsenal from Queen's Park Rangers in 1990, the £1.3 million transfer fee set a record for the highest value of a British goalkeeper at the time.
In 482 games Heyman played for Arsenal, 40 per cent of the clean sheets were made against opponents. Many teams will exclaim after passing the Gunners: "Without Seaman, a 1-0 loss to Arsenal would not be possible".
Arsenal won the League One title in 1990/91, with Heyman scoring only 18 goals in that season, and Heemann's title of Arsenal 'Cup Expert' was also credited to Himan.
7. Liam Brady (Ireland)
Played in: 1973-1980
Appearances: 235
Goals: 43, assists: ---
Brady is one of the most talented players in Arsenal history and has been named the club's Player of the Year three times. Arsenal faltered in the mid-1970s, with Brady almost alone carrying the team forward.
At the heart of Arsenal's organisation, Brady led the team to three consecutive FA Cup finals from 1978 to 1980 and won the title in 1979.
6. Robert Pires (France)
Potency: 2000-2006
Appearances: 284
Goals: 85, assists: 60
Pires's personable off-the-pitch and elegant style of play made him uncomfortable at first with the fierce rivalry and fast pace of the Premier League, and he did not perform well at the beginning of his move from Ligue 1 giants Marseille to Arsenal.
Once adapted, Pires immediately showed his power, he could play anywhere in the midfield, even as a two-forward, and produce a goal in less than two games on average.
Pires has won Grand Slam honours for the French national team and at Arsenal he is also a two-time Premier League winner and three-time FA Cup winner.
5. Ian Wright (England)
Effectiveness: 1991-1998
Appearances: 253
Goals: 151, assists: 4
Wright's career path did not start well, and at the age of 22 he was still working as a wall mason. Wright was kicked out of the limelight after being discovered by Crystal Palace and was nearing the age of 28 when he moved to Arsenal.
Wright scored a hat-trick in his first Premier League game for Arsenal, winning the League Golden Boot that season. During arsenal's seven years, Wright was the team's top scorer for six seasons.
Not only was Wright a huge success at Arsenal, playing for six seasons at the last club, which also included him in crystal palace's 100-year squad.
4. Patrick Vieira (France)
Played: 1996-2005
Appearances: 396
Goals: 32, assists: 45
After her debut at Cannes in Ligue 1, Vieira was caught by AC Milan, but he failed to gain a foothold in the Rossoneri and moved to Arsenal half a season later to find the right soil in the arsenal.
Vieira is a solid defender in midfield, and has excellent ability to carry and shoot the ball, becoming an important pawn in revitalizing both ends of the attack and defense. He won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups during his time at Arsenal, and also performed well at Manchester City at the end of his career, becoming the 10th star to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
There is a widely circulated rumor in China that Vieira came to China for a trial before going to Milan that year, but was not caught by Shenhua coach Xu Genbao. This false passage has been repeatedly mentioned to satirize the low level of Chinese football coaches and the lack of knowledge.
3. Tony Adams (England)
Effectiveness: 1983-2002
Appearances: 567
Goals: 38, assists: 8
Adams dedicated his entire football career to Arsenal, making his League One debut at just 17 and wearing the Gunners captain's armband at the age of 21.
Adams played for Arsenal for 20 years and wrote a legend at Arsenal. Although he had contracted a bad habit of alcoholism during his career and was only on track under Wenger's discipline, this did not reduce the love of Gunners fans.
After Adams retired, his No. 6 shirt was sealed forever.
2. Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands)
Effectiveness: 1995-2006
Appearances: 404
Goals: 110, assists: 90
Afraid of flying, Bergkamp drove to London, and after two years of unsuccessful inter milan due to tactical playing style and locker room problems, he moved to Arsenal.
Looking at the goal efficiency alone, Bergkamp is not high, but the addition of assist statistics is enough to prove that he is a comprehensive frontcourt all-rounder. Bergkamp was not a prolific goalscorer, but he scored a lot of impressive goals, and many fans and football experts thought he was the most comprehensive attacker of his time.
1. Thierry Henry (France)
Effectiveness: 1999-2007, 2012
Appearances: 376
Goals: 229, assists: 99
Henry joined the Gunners at the age of 22 and started unsuccessfully, failing to score in eight consecutive games. Club vice-president Dunn threw Henry a cd of Wright's goals at Arsenal and told him to play like this.
It is not known whether Henry watched Wright's goal collection carefully, but under Wenger's careful tuning, he quickly integrated into the team.
Henry won the Premier League Golden Boot four times at Arsenal and was the most destructive and skilled striker of his time, not only for the Gunners but for the premier league as a whole. Henry's monument to the team's all-time shooter Wang at Arsenal inspires younger generations to surpass.
Arsenal are a more offbeat club, with a long history and a large number of supporters, and the lack of convincing results, especially in Europe, has made it difficult for Arsenal to rank among the world's top giants.
Arsenal have won the English top flight 13 times and won the FA Cup 14 times, but have never reached the top of European clubs, which makes Arsenal difficult to match the European giants. However, none of this prevents the fans from supporting and loving them.
Perhaps, the top twenty stars in Arsenal's history are not as dazzling as the phalanx of other European giants on the whole, but they are all fighters who have made outstanding contributions to the Arsenal.
Most of them fought for the Gunners during the Highbury era, with the exception of Silva, Campbell, Ljungberg and Henry who had played at Emirates Stadium.
The fighters who are fighting on the Emirates Stadium today need to carry on the spirit of Highbury and win the glory of Arsenal.