Arsenal have had some great teams over the years and some wonderful, trophy-laden eras. Whether Mikel Arteta can forge something that will be talked about decades from now remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though: Arsene Wenger has to go down as one of the club’s greatest managers ever.
The Alsatian achieved so much at Highbury and the Emirates, and his great success should not be obscured or forgotten because of the way his time at the club ended. The slow demise and jokes about playing for the “fourth-place trophy” should not detract from the many wonderful seasons the former Monaco boss had with Arsenal.
He brought silverware aplenty to north London and did so playing fantastic football. He was unable to deliver the Champions League but he did achieve something that no Arsenal boss had previously done and, in reality, no future boss is likely to match. We are talking, of course, about the Invincibles, and their miraculous unbeaten league campaign of 2003/04.
When considering the best starting XI of Arsene Wenger’s time, it would be tempting to pick from the group that won the Premier League that year. Going 38 league games without defeat, plus two domestic cup semis and a narrow loss in the quarters of the Champions League, represented one of the great seasons in the club’s long history.
However, good as the Invincibles were, we feel we can upgrade here and there to create a truly spectacular Arsenal Wenger 11. This is made up of players who played at least one game for the club under the manager who was in charge between 1996 and 2018. That mammoth stint as boss of one of the world’s greatest clubs included a massive 1,235 games, with literally hundreds of players (222 by some counts) turning out under Wenger for the Gunners. And here are the best 11 of them!
David Seaman
Arsenal have had so many outstanding goalies over the years and had more than one under Wenger. However, few would question the inclusion of Seaman in an all-time Wenger Arsenal XI. The likeable Yorkshireman won trophies galore with the Gunners and was there well before Wenger. His reliability, organisational skills and all-round play mean the man who played 75 times for England is a shoe-in for this team.
Ashley Cole
At left-back we again have options but we will plump for the man who was there for the Invincible season, Ashley Cole. His subsequent move to Chelsea makes him a controversial pick but he was possibly the best in the world in his position from around 2003 to 2007, and 107 England caps back up just how good he was.
Tony Adams
Like Seaman, Adams was at the club before Wenger and won trophies under George Graham. Also, like Seaman, for many fans, he is synonymous with the Gunners. Not for nothing is he known as Mr Arsenal! Adams was a leader and a warrior and although he played most of his 672 games for the club before Wenger arrived, he is another who simply has to feature on this list.
Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell had it all as a defender, with pace and strength to spare but also the ability to read the game so well. Like Adams, he was a threat from set pieces too, and although he was less vocal than Adams, he was also a leader. Signed by Wenger ahead of the 2001/02 campaign from arch rival Tottenham, he played alongside Adams at times that season. A key member of the Invincibles team, Campbell was a formidable defender.
Bacary Sagna
Perhaps our first really debatable pick, where many may have plumped for Lee Dixon or perhaps Lauren. Sagna only won the 2014 FA Cup at Arsenal, and played after the more successful, early Wenger years. However, the man Wenger signed for £7m from Auxerre played 65 times for a good France side and was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in both 2007/08 and 2010/11.
Patrick Vieira
The muscular, powerful Frenchman is one of the great Premier League midfielders and a must for this team. He was more than just a midfield destroyer, though, and like his Man United rival, Roy Keane, could do a bit of everything. Another real leader on the pitch, he was a true box-to-box player who offered so much at both ends of the pitch.
Cesc Fabregas
We’re going for a midfield three and between the three of our picks, all bases are covered. Fabregas left north London for Barca and then moved to Chelsea but even so, his creative brilliance and ability to keep things ticking in the middle mean he gets the nod. He won 110 caps for Spain, capturing the World Cup and two European Championships along the way and that illustrates just how good he was.
Emmanuel Petit
Petit also moved from Arsenal to Barcelona and then to Chelsea and had just three seasons with the Gunners. However, he was a classy player and again, had it all. He was a key part of the French side that won the 1998 World Cup and in his time at Arsenal he landed the league and cup double that same, glorious summer.
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp is one of the classiest players football has seen and a huge fan favourite at Arsenal. His skill, vision and range of passing and creative finishing made him a truly world-class player. With 37 goals in 79 appearances for the Netherlands, and 120 in 423 for the Gunners, there is a strong argument for his inclusion in this dazzling XI.
Thierry Henry
If Bergkamp is loved at Arsenal and a must for this team, the same is most certainly true of Henry, a player that Wenger converted from a wide player to one of the Premier League’s greatest strikers ever. Iconic, beautiful goals, but also lots and lots of them, Henry also provided assists aplenty and did both with incredible grace, which made football into art.
Robin van Persie
RVP didn’t play the game with the style, grace and elegance of the two players we have picked to play just behind him. But he may well be the greatest, most deadly finisher in Premier League history. He controversially left to join Man United, with Sir Alex Ferguson recognising what the Dutch ace would bring to his team. Even so, Van Persie was Arsenal player of the year in 2008/09 and 2011/12 and won the PL Golden Boot in 2011/12 and 2012/13.