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.
David O'Leary has played 722 times for Arsenal, more than any other player.

Arsenal Football Club, an association football club based in Islington, London, was founded in 1886 as Dial Square. They became the first southern member[nb 1] admitted into the Football League in 1893, having spent their first four seasons solely participating in cup tournaments and friendlies.[3] The club's name, which shortly changed to Woolwich Arsenal, was shortened to Arsenal in 1914, a year after moving to Highbury.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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,[8] 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.[9] He surpassed the previous record of 185 goals, held by Ian Wright, in 2005,[10] and became the first player to score 200 goals for Arsenal the following year.[11]

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.[12]

  1. ^ Tomlinson, Alan (2010). A Dictionary of Sports Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-19-921381-8.
  2. ^ Freeman, Nicholas (2011). 1895: Drama, Disaster and Disgrace in Late Victoian Britain. Edinburgh University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7486-4056-0.
  3. ^ Joy (1952), p. 9.
  4. ^ Joy (1952), p. 32.
  5. ^ Joy (1952), p. 28.
  6. ^ "Club profile – Arsenal". Premier League. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ^ Fearon, Matthew (18 March 2009). "Dream Teams: Arsenal". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  8. ^ Pearce, Jonathan (18 September 2009). "Missing link is hurting Gunners". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Thierry Henry Arsenal return would be a masterstroke – John Hartson". BBC Sport. 2 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  10. ^ Davies, Christopher (19 October 2005). "Henry strikes twice to secure Arsenal record". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  11. ^ "Henry scores 200th goal for Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 6 February 2006. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  12. ^ "The Arsenal 100 Club". Arsenal F.C. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.


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