List of Arsenal F.C. players

This article is about Arsenal players with at least 100 appearances. For Arsenal players with between 25 and 99 appearances, see List of Arsenal F.C. players (25–99 appearances). For Arsenal players with fewer than 25 appearances, see List of Arsenal F.C. players (1–24 appearances). For the current Arsenal first-team squad, see Arsenal F.C. § First-team squad.

Ian Wright is Arsenal's second-highest all-time goalscorer.

Arsenal Football Club, an association football club based in Islington, London, was founded in 1886 as Royal Arsenal. They became the first southern member admitted into the Football League in 1893, having spent their first four seasons solely participating in cup tournaments and friendlies. The club's name, which shortly changed to Woolwich Arsenal, was shortened to Arsenal in 1914, a year after moving to Highbury. Despite finishing fifth in the Second Division in 1914–15, Arsenal rejoined the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur when football resumed after the First World War. Since that time, they have not fallen below the first tier of the English football league system and hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the top flight. The club's first team has competed in numerous nationally and internationally organised competitions, and all players who have played in 100 or more such matches are listed below.

David O'Leary holds the record for the greatest number of appearances for Arsenal. Between 1975 and 1993 the Irish defender played 722 times for the club. As of 2009, seven other players have made more than 500 appearances for Arsenal, including four of the so-called "famous five" defenders of the 1990s, Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, David Seaman and Nigel Winterburn. The club's goalscoring record is held by Thierry Henry, who scored 228 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2007 and during a loan spell with the club in 2012. He surpassed the previous record of 185 goals, held by Ian Wright, in 2005, and became the first player to score 200 goals for Arsenal the following year.

In 2013, Arsenal launched the "100 Club" to formally recognise retired players with over 100 league appearances. As of September 2016, 75 living players have been inducted with a further 26 automatically enrolled once they end their careers.

Key

• The list is ordered first by date of debut, and then if necessary in alphabetical order.
• Appearances as a substitute are included. This feature of the game was introduced in the Football League at the start of the 1965–66 season.
• Statistics are correct up to and including the match played on 1 August 2020. Where a player left the club permanently after this date, his statistics are updated to his date of leaving.

Positions key

Pre-1960s		1960s–
GK	Goalkeeper
FB	Full back	DF	Defender
HB	Half back	MF	Midfielder
FW	Forward

Nationality

Unless otherwise noted, the nationality of a player is determined by the country/countries which he has played for, or if said person has not played international football, their country of birth.

Position

Playing positions are listed according to the tactical formations that were employed at the time. Thus the change in the names of defensive and midfield positions reflects the tactical evolution that occurred from the 1960s onwards.

Club career

Club career is defined as the first and last calendar years in which the player appeared for the club in any of the competitions listed below.

Total appearances and Total goals

Total appearances and goals comprise those in the Football League, Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup, FA Charity/Community Shield, European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Football League Centenary Trophy and European Super Cup. Matches in the United League, Southern District Combination, London League and wartime competitions are excluded.

Players

Tony Adams, who lies second in the all-time appearance list with 669. He was also captain from 1988 to 2002

Percy Sands made 350 appearances in the early years, when the team was known as Woolwich Arsenal

Another early player, Joe Shaw made 326 appearances

Bob Wilson made 308 appearances for the club in the 1960s and 70s.

Frank McLintock made 403 appearances for the Gunners

Nicknamed "The Romford Pelé", Ray Parlour has 464 appearances

Seen here during his time with Portsmouth, Paul Merson has 423 appearances

Dennis Bergkamp has more appearances than any other overseas player

Patrick Vieira was captain from 2002 to 2005

Kenny Sansom preceded Tony Adams as captain, holding the post until 1988.

Record goalscorer Thierry Henry, who was also captain from 2005 to 2007.

Kolo Touré made 326 appearances for Arsenal

Cesc Fàbregas is Arsenal's youngest-ever goalscorer, and captained the side from 2008 to 2011.

Per Mertesacker made 221 appearances for Arsenal and is the current Arsenal Academy manager

Mikel Arteta made 150 appearances for Arsenal and is the current Head Coach

Players highlighted in bold are still actively playing at Arsenal.

List of Arsenal F.C. players with 100 or more appearances Player Nationality Pos Club career Starts Subs Total Goals Appearances Gavin Crawford Scotland RW 1891–1898 138 0 138 18 Fred Davis England MF 1893–1899 150 0 150 10 John Anderson England MF 1896–1903 153 0 153 11 John Dick Scotland MF 1898–1912 284 0 284 13 Duncan McNichol Scotland RB/LB 1899–1903 112 0 112 1 Jimmy Jackson Scotland LB 1899–1905 204 0 204 1 Archie Cross England RB 1900–1910 149 0 149 0 Jimmy Ashcroft England GK 1900–1908 303 0 303 0 Tommy Briercliffe England RW 1901–1905 133 0 133 34 Bill Gooing England FW 1901–1905 106 0 106 48 Tim Coleman England FW 1902–1908 196 0 196 84 Roddy McEachrane Scotland MF 1902–1915 346 0 346 0 Percy Sands England CB 1902–1919 350 0 350 12 Archie Gray Scotland RB 1904–1912 200 0 200 0 David Neave Scotland LW 1904–1912 168 0 168 32 Charlie Satterthwaite England FW 1904–1910 141 0 141 48 Andy Ducat England MF 1905–1912 188 0 188 21 Jimmy Sharp Scotland LB 1905–1908 116 0 116 5 Hugh McDonald Scotland GK 1906 1908–1910 1912–1913 103 0 103 0 Charles Lewis England FW 1907–1920 220 0 220 34 Joe Shaw England LB 1907–1923 326 0 326 0 David Greenaway Scotland RW 1908–1921 170 0 170 13 Angus McKinnon Scotland MF 1908–1922 217 0 217 4 Pat Flanagan England FW 1910–1917 121 0 121 28 Alex Graham Scotland CB 1911–1924 179 0 179 20 Jock Rutherford England RW 1913–1923 1923–1926 232 0 232 27 Billy Blyth Scotland MF 1914–1929 343 0 343 51 Frank Bradshaw England LB 1914–1923 142 0 142 14 Jack Butler England CB 1914–1930 296 0 296 8 Arthur Hutchins England LB 1919–1923 108 0 108 1 Henry White England FW 1919–1923 109 0 109 45 Joe Toner Ireland LW 1919–1926 100 0 100 6 Ernest Williamson England GK 1919–1923 113 0 113 0 Alf Baker England MF 1919–1931 351 0 351 26 Alec Mackie Ireland RB 1921–1926 118 0 118 1 Billy Milne Scotland MF 1921–1927 124 0 124 3 Jock Robson Scotland GK 1921–1925 101 0 101 0 Bob John Wales MF 1922–1937 470 0 470 13 Andy Kennedy Northern Ireland LB 1922–1928 129 0 129 0 Jimmy Brain England FW 1924–1931 232 0 232 139 Sidney Hoar England LW 1924–1929 117 0 117 18 Dan Lewis Wales GK 1924–1931 167 0 167 0 Charlie Buchan England FW 1925–1928 120 0 120 56 Joe Hulme England RW 1926–1937 374 0 374 125 Jack Lambert England FW 1926–1933 161 0 161 109 Tom Parker England RB 1926–1932 294 0 294 17 Herbie Roberts England CB 1926–1937 335 0 335 5 Eddie Hapgood England LB 1927–1939 440 0 440 2 David Jack England MF 1928–1934 208 0 208 124 Charlie Jones Wales LW 1928–1934 195 0 195 8 Cliff Bastin England LW 1929–1947 396 0 396 178 Alex James Scotland MF 1929–1937 261 0 261 27 Leslie Compton England CB 1930–1950 273 0 273 6 George Male England RB 1930–1948 318 0 318 0 Frank Moss England GK 1931–1936 161 0 161 1 Ray Bowden England FW 1933–1937 138 0 138 48 Wilf Copping England MF 1934–1939 189 0 189 0 Jack Crayston England MF 1934–1939 187 0 187 17 Ted Drake England ST 1934–1939 184 0 184 139 Alf Kirchen England RW 1935–1939 101 0 101 45 Reg Lewis England FW 1935–1953 176 0 176 118 George Swindin England GK 1936–1953 297 0 297 0 Walley Barnes Wales RB 1946–1955 294 0 294 12 Jimmy Logie Scotland MF 1946–1955 328 0 328 76 Ian McPherson Scotland RW 1946–1951 163 0 163 21 Joe Mercer England MF 1946–1954 275 0 275 2 Laurie Scott England RB 1946–1951 126 0 126 0 Archie Macaulay Scotland MF 1947–1950 108 0 108 1 Don Roper England FW 1947–1956 321 0 321 95 Alex Forbes Scotland MF 1948–1956 240 0 240 20 Doug Lishman England FW 1948–1955 244 0 244 137 Lionel Smith England LB 1948–1954 181 0 181 0 Peter Goring England FW/MF 1949–1959 240 0 240 53 Jack Kelsey Wales GK 1949–1962 352 0 352 0 Cliff Holton England FW 1950–1958 217 0 217 88 Dave Bowen Wales MF 1951–1959 162 0 162 2 Dennis Evans England LB 1951–1960 207 0 207 12 Bill Dodgin England CB 1953–1960 207 0 207 1 Len Wills England RB 1953–1961 209 0 209 4 Jimmy Bloomfield England FW 1954–1960 227 0 227 56 Danny Clapton England RW 1954–1962 225 0 225 27 Joe Haverty Ireland LW 1954–1961 122 0 122 26 Derek Tapscott Wales MF 1954–1958 132 0 132 68 Stan Charlton England RB 1955–1958 110 0 110 3 Vic Groves England MF 1955–1964 203 0 203 37 David Herd Scotland FW 1955–1961 180 0 180 107 John Barnwell England MF 1957–1964 151 0 151 24 Jackie Henderson Scotland FW 1958–1961 111 0 111 29 Billy McCullough Northern Ireland LB 1958–1966 268 0 268 5 Eddie Magill Northern Ireland RB/LB 1959–1965 131 0 131 0 George Eastham England FW 1960–1966 223 0 223 41 Terry Neill Northern Ireland CB 1960–1970 272 3 275 10 Alan Skirton England RW 1960–1966 153 1 154 54 Geoff Strong England FW 1960–1964 137 0 137 77 Laurie Brown England CB 1961–1963 109 0 109 2 Johnny MacLeod Scotland RW 1961–1964 112 0 112 28 George Armstrong England RW 1962–1977 607 14 621 68 Joe Baker England FW 1962–1966 156 0 156 100 David Court England MF 1962–1970 194 10 204 18 Jim Furnell England GK 1963–1968 167 0 167 0 Jon Sammels England MF 1963–1971 226 4 270 52 Ian Ure Scotland CB 1963–1969 202 0 202 2 Bob Wilson Scotland GK 1963–1974 308 0 308 0 Frank McLintock Scotland CB 1964–1973 401 2 403 32 John Radford England ST 1964–1976 475 6 481 149 Peter Simpson England CB 1964–1978 458 19 477 15 Peter Storey England RB 1965–1977 494 7 501 17 George Graham Scotland FW 1966–1972 296 12 308 77 Bob McNab England LB 1966–1975 362 3 365 6 Pat Rice Northern Ireland RB 1967–1980 521 7 528 13 Charlie George England FW 1969–1975 157 22 179 49 Eddie Kelly Scotland MF 1969–1975 211 11 222 19 Ray Kennedy England FW 1969–1974 206 6 212 71 Sammy Nelson Northern Ireland LB 1969–1981 325 14 339 12 Alan Ball England MF 1971–1976 217 0 217 52 Liam Brady Ireland MF 1973–1980 295 12 307 59 David Price England MF 1973–1981 165 11 176 19 Jimmy Rimmer England GK 1974–1977 146 0 146 0 David O'Leary Ireland CB 1973–1993 681 41 722 14 Frank Stapleton Ireland FW 1975–1981 297 3 300 108 John Devine Ireland RB 1976–1983 108 3 111 0 Malcolm Macdonald England FW 1976–1979 107 1 108 57 Pat Jennings Northern Ireland GK 1977–1984 327 0 327 0 Graham Rix England LW 1977–1988 447 17 464 51 Alan Sunderland England FW 1977–1983 278 3 281 92 Willie Young Scotland CB 1977–1981 236 1 237 19 John Hollins England MF 1979–1983 164 9 172 13 Brian Talbot England MF 1979–1985 311 16 327 49 Paul Davis England MF 1980–1994 416 31 447 37 Kenny Sansom England LB 1980–1988 394 0 394 6 Stewart Robson England MF 1981–1986 185 1 186 21 Chris Whyte England CB 1981–1985 108 5 113 8 Tony Woodcock England FW 1982–1986 164 5 169 68 Tony Adams England CB 1983–2002 663 6 669 48 Ian Allinson England MF 1983–1987 75 30 105 23 Charlie Nicholas Scotland FW 1983–1987 176 8 184 54 Viv Anderson England RB 1984–1987 150 0 150 15 Steve Williams England MF 1984–1988 119 2 121 5 John Lukic England GK 1984–1990 1996–2001 298 0 298 0 Martin Hayes England LW 1985–1990 92 40 132 34 David Rocastle England MF 1985–1992 260 17 277 34 Martin Keown England CB 1985–1986 1993–2004 408 41 449 8 Perry Groves England RW 1986–1992 120 83 203 28 Paul Merson England FW 1986–1997 381 44 425 99 Alan Smith England ST 1987–1995 318 29 347 115 Kevin Richardson England MF 1987–1990 111 11 121 8 Michael Thomas England MF 1987–1991 187 21 208 30 Steve Bould England CB 1988–1999 348 24 372 22 Kevin Campbell England FW 1988–1995 166 62 228 59 Lee Dixon England RB 1988–2002 598 21 618 28 Nigel Winterburn England LB 1987–2000 572 12 584 12 David Hillier England MF 1990–1996 113 30 143 2 Anders Limpar Sweden LW 1990–1994 96 20 116 20 Andy Linighan England CB 1990–1996 135 21 156 8 David Seaman England GK 1990–2003 564 0 564 0 Ian Wright England ST 1991–1998 279 9 288 185 John Jensen Denmark MF 1992–1996 130 8 138 1 Ray Parlour England MF 1992–2004 390 76 464 32 Dennis Bergkamp Netherlands FW 1995–2006 345 78 423 120 David Platt England MF 1995–1998 77 31 108 15 Patrick Vieira France MF 1996–2005 396 10 406 33 Gilles Grimandi France CB/MF 1997–2002 128 42 170 6 Marc Overmars Netherlands LW 1997–2000 127 15 142 41 Emmanuel Petit France MF 1997–2000 114 4 118 11 Freddie Ljungberg Sweden RW 1998–2007 285 43 328 72 Ashley Cole England LB 1999–2006 218 10 228 9 Thierry Henry France ST 1999–2007 2012 337 40 377 228 Nwankwo Kanu Nigeria ST 1999–2004 104 94 198 44 Oleh Luzhny Ukraine RB 1999–2003 91 19 110 0 Sylvain Wiltord France FW 2000–2004 124 51 176 49 Robert Pires France LW 2000–2006 238 46 284 84 Lauren Cameroon RB 2000–2007 227 14 241 9 Sol Campbell England CB 2001–2006 2010 208 3 211 12 Edu Brazil MF 2001–2005 76 51 127 15 Gilberto Silva Brazil MF 2002–2008 213 31 245 24 Kolo Touré Ivory Coast CB 2002–2009 295 31 326 14 Jens Lehmann Germany GK 2003–2008 2011 199 1 200 0 Cesc Fàbregas Spain MF 2003–2011 266 37 303 57 Gaël Clichy France LB 2003–2011 230 34 264 2 Philippe Senderos Switzerland CB 2003–2010 105 12 117 4 Manuel Almunia Spain GK 2004–2012 173 2 175 0 José Antonio Reyes Spain FW 2004–2007 89 21 110 23 Robin van Persie Netherlands ST 2004–2012 211 67 278 132 Mathieu Flamini France MF 2004–2008 2013–2016 174 72 246 13 Johan Djourou Switzerland CB 2004–2014 123 21 144 1 Emmanuel Eboué Ivory Coast RB 2005–2011 159 55 214 10 Alexander Hleb Belarus MF 2005–2008 109 21 130 10 Nicklas Bendtner Denmark ST 2005–2014 83 88 171 47 Alex Song Cameroon MF 2005–2012 179 25 204 10 Emmanuel Adebayor Togo FW 2006–2009 114 28 142 62 William Gallas France CB 2006–2010 142 0 142 17 Theo Walcott England RW 2006–2018 252 145 397 108 Abou Diaby France MF 2006–2015 136 44 180 19 Tomáš Rosický Czech Republic MF 2006–2016 158 88 246 28 Denílson Brazil MF 2006–2013 120 33 153 10 Bacary Sagna France RB 2007–2014 272 12 284 5 Kieran Gibbs England LB 2007–2017 183 47 230 6 Aaron Ramsey Wales MF 2008–2019 261 108 369 64 Samir Nasri France MF 2008–2011 110 15 125 27 Jack Wilshere England MF 2008–2018 150 47 197 14 Francis Coquelin France MF 2008–2018 115 45 160 0 Andrey Arshavin Russia MF 2009–2013 97 47 144 31 Thomas Vermaelen Belgium CB 2009–2014 136 14 150 15 Wojciech Szczęsny Poland GK 2009–2017 181 0 181 0 Laurent Koscielny France CB 2010–2019 342 11 353 27 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain England MF 2011–2017 115 83 198 20 Per Mertesacker Germany CB 2011–2018 215 6 221 10 Mikel Arteta Spain MF 2011–2016 131 19 150 16 Olivier Giroud France ST 2012–2018 169 84 253 105 Santi Cazorla Spain MF 2012–2018 166 14 180 29 Nacho Monreal Spain LB 2013–2019 223 28 251 10 Mesut Özil Germany MF 2013– 237 17 254 44 Héctor Bellerín Spain RB 2013– 188 16 204 8 Alexis Sánchez Chile FW 2014–2018 153 13 166 80 Calum Chambers England RB 2014– 73 28 101 4 Danny Welbeck England FW 2014–2019 78 48 126 32 Ainsley Maitland-Niles England MF 2014– 71 29 100 3 Petr Čech Czech Republic GK 2015–2019 139 0 139 0 Alex Iwobi Nigeria MF 2015–2019 103 46 149 15 Granit Xhaka Switzerland MF 2016– 165 10 175 12 Shkodran Mustafi Germany CB 2016– 136 6 142 9 Sead Kolašinac Bosnia and Herzegovina LB 2017– 83 21 104 5 Alexandre Lacazette France FW 2017– 99 28 127 48 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Gabon FW 2018– 96 13 109 70 Footnotes References General "Player Database". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2009. Joy, Bernard (1952). Forward, Arsenal!. London: GCR Books. ISBN 0-9559211-1-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony (ed.). Arsenal Who's Who. London: Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4. Kelly, Andy (29 July 2015). "Every Arsenal player in chronological order". The Arsenal History. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016. "Arsenal first team line-ups". The Arsenal History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016. Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (2011). Arsenal 125: The Official Illustrated History 1886–2011. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-35871-2. Spragg, Iain; Clarke, Adrian (2015). The Official Arsenal FC Book of Records (2nd ed.). London: Carlton Books Ltd. ISBN 1-78097-668-2. "Arsenal". UEFA. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016. Specific