While most football glory rests primarily with strikers or midfielders, every club’s history includes legendary defenders whose names are almost sacred to fans. Of course, there are such players in Arsenal’s 130-plus year history.
Leave aside the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries for now. Still, that leaves us with a long 100 years to focus on, and we have attempted to find the top ten defenders who have worn the London club’s jersey with the cannon in their emblem during that period.
If the footballer in question continued to play after 2000, it was essential to us that the more significant part of his career fell within the last century. You will find these memorable players in the following chapters.
Martin Keown joined Arsenal as a 15-year-old youngster in 1981. Although he left for Aston Villa for £200,000 as an “unprospect” five years later, he returned to the club via Everton. From 1993 to 2004, he was a mainstay of the Gunners.
He was also indispensable to the England national team, playing 43 games and scoring two goals. He did considerably more at Arsenal. By the time he parted company, he had 449 games played and had three English titles, three FA Cup trophies and a Cup Winners’ Cup victory to his name.
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