Arsenal's Greatest Showboaters and Their Fanciest Footwork

Premier League fans love a true showboater.

These are the players who refuse to go for the simple option. Why play a straightforward pass when you could backheel the ball between an opponent's legs? Why dribble past a man just once when you could swerve back and dribble past him again? Why simply beat a goalkeeper when you could humiliate him?

A showboater values aesthetics and entertainment above mere pragmatism. They can be frustrating but they're always fun to watch.

Arsenal have been blessed with several of these natural-born entertainers. Over the coming slides, we look at some of the greatest showmen in Arsenal's recent history, and provide video clips of some of their most spectacular exploits.  

Kanu

Kanu was arguably the King of the showboaters.

Having overcome a serious heart problem to save both his life and football career, Kanu played with an unparalleled irreverence and joie de vivre.

His most famous goal was an outrageous backheel against Middlesbrough, but his Arsenal career was littered with remarkable moments of skill. Against Deportivo, he once caused the goalkeeper to fall to the ground with just a shuffle of his size 15 feet.

Arsenal fans will never forget this gangly entertainer. 

Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla is not a natural showman. Off the field, he shies away from the cameras. He is a quiet, humble character.

On the field, however, he is an absolute star.

Cazorla's ability to wriggle out of tight spaces is unrivalled. He's a nice guy, and has no desire to embarrass his opponent. However, if necessary, he can and will make defenders look like idiots with his quick feet and even quicker brain. 

Andrey Arshavin

Even in the darker days at the end of his Arsenal career, Andrey Arshavin was still capable of lighting up the Emirates Stadium with a moment of pure imagination.

Arsenal fans' frustrations with the Russian playmaker stemmed primarily from his obvious talent. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to convert that unique ability into positive performances often enough.

Nevertheless, Arshavin's idiosyncratic style ensured that he was always entertaining.

Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry was the perfect footballer: efficient and entertaining.

Henry was deadly in front of goal, but was also capable of sending the Arsenal crowd into bouts of delirium with his unsurpassed technical ability and creative thinking. So many of his record-breaking haul of goals were special.

Henry's desire to break new ground occasionally backfired, as with the infamous "passed penalty" incident with Robert Pires.

However, for the most part, Henry produced sublime moments of skill that will live in the memories of Arsenal fans forever. 

Emmanuel Eboue

Emmanuel Eboue was certainly a better entertainer than he was a defender.

Eboue's lapses in concentration and theatrical dives often infuriated the Arsenal fans. However, that same sense of theatre also inspired Eboue to produce magical moments of self-expression on the field.

Eboue's early performances were so spiced with skill that Arsene Wenger compared him to one of the game's all-time greats: Brazilian winger Garrincha. 

Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil has not yet pulled on an Arsenal shirt. However, with the German international set to make his debut at Sunderland this weekend, Arsenal fans are hopeful that he will soon join the ranks of Arsenal's greatest entertainers.

The video above showcases some of Ozil's most startling moments of skill in Germany and Spain. Gunners supporters hope he'll soon be producing moments of equivalent excellence in England.

Who do you think is Arsenal's top showman? Let us know below.