Ranking Arsenal's Greatest Over-30 Signings of the Premier League Era
During his time at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has been famously reluctant to sign players over the age of 30. The manager has a clear preference to invest in younger talent, but there have been occasions on which he's been convinced to recruit a more experienced player.
That's yielded mixed results. The likes of Sebastien Squillaci and Mikael Silvestre have arrived in north London only to look over the hill and out of their depth. However, there are players who have been able to use their maturity to the benefit the team.
In this piece, we count down the five best over-30 Arsenal signings of the Premier League era. That means we factor in players acquired before even Wenger's time, such as ageing goalkeeper John Lukic. They're ranked according to how successful they were during their time with the Gunners.
Read on to discover which veterans made the cut.
5. Oleg Luzhny
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It may be surprising to see Oleg Luzhny's name featured on this list, but unlike many of Arsenal's over-30 signings, the Ukrainian defender had a surprising degree of longevity in north London.
He arrived in 1999, aged 30. He ended up staying till 2003, making 110 appearances over his four years with the club. Wenger moved to bring Luzhny to London after being impressed with his performances for Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. He was one of the standout performers in a star-studded side also containing the likes of Andriy Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov.
Although most of his games for Kiev had come as a right-back, he was more of a utility player at Arsenal. Although never a first-choice player, he filled in regularly at centre-half and even left-back. In Arsenal's double-winning campaign of 2001/02, he featured in almost half the games, appearing 18 times.
His final appearance for the club came in the 2003 FA Cup final, when he started in the 1-0 win over Southampton. Few players have arrived as a veteran and managed to remain a part of Wenger's plans for the duration of their time with the club. Luzhny may never have been a key player at Arsenal, but he was a reliable and valuable squad member.
4. Sol Campbell
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When Sol Campbell first joined Arsenal on a free transfer from Tottenham Hotspur, he was just 26. He spent five years with the club, twice winning the Premier League, before leaving to join Portsmouth.
However, that was not the end of Campbell's Arsenal story. In 2010, he completed a shock return to the Gunners—aged 35. Campbell had been released from Notts County in League Two just a month prior, and after impressing during a spell training at London Colney, he was recruited by Wenger to add cover and experience to the defence.
He was not expected to get much playing time, but an injury crisis saw Campbell plunged into first-team action. The unavailability of both Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas saw Wenger turning to Campbell to bring some stability to the back line.
Campbell acquitted himself incredibly well. Although he had lost some of his pace, his positional awareness and defensive instincts were second-to-none. He was even able to produce an outstanding performance during another awkward return to White Hart Lane.
Campbell's second spell with Arsenal was brief but impactful. He proved his doubters wrong and showed Wenger had been right to show faith in his former charge.
3. Petr Cech
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In the Premier League era, most of the players over 30 signed by Arsenal have been goalkeepers. The likes of Lukic, Guillaume Warmuz and Mart Poom have all joined the club in the latter stages of their careers. However, Arsenal have rarely recruited a 'keeper with such standing in the game as Petr Cech.
Signing Cech was a huge coup for the Gunners. Since losing Jens Lehmann to Stuttgart, Arsenal had struggled to find a convincing No. 1. Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny all had spells between the sticks, but consistency was an issue for all three.
Bringing Cech in immediately gave Arsenal an established first choice. It was not a straightforward deal, with Chelsea presumably loath to sell to a London rival. However, Cech ultimately got his wish to stay in the capital, and Arsenal got their man. Cech had made more than 400 appearances for Chelsea and brought a wealth of experience to Wenger's team.
In his first season in north London, Cech kept 16 Premier League clean sheets, earning him the coveted Golden Glove award. He is still Wenger's preferred goalkeeper, despite competition from Colombia international David Ospina.
2. Thierry Henry
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Like Campbell, Thierry Henry was an Arsenal icon in his first spell with the club before returning towards the end of his career for a second spell.
Henry initially left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007, then after three years at the Camp Nou he moved to MLS and New York Red Bulls.
In the winter of 2011, he returned to London to train with Arsenal during the MLS offseason. It was not long before Wenger decided to register him to play, too, securing a two-month loan deal in January 2012.
The striker made his second Arsenal debut in the FA Cup against Leeds United, netting the winner with a trademark side-footed strike.
His last league appearance for Arsenal came away at Sunderland, when he managed to snatch the winner with a stoppage-time volley.
Henry came back to Arsenal as a legend. His return lifted the fans and energised everyone around the club. However, he also performed on the pitch, proving that his goalscoring instincts were still intact.
1. Jens Lehmann
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Jens Lehmann joined Arsenal twice after turning 30. He first signed for the club in 2003, aged 33. He was recruited as the replacement for David Seaman and had an astonishing impact, helping the club claim the Premier League title in his first season.
However, he is also the only player on this list to have joined Arsenal after his 40th birthday. In 2011, he rejoined the Gunners on a short-term deal aged 41. He made just one appearance, helping Arsenal to a 3-1 win over Blackpool in the Premier League. It was Lehmann's 200th appearance in an Arsenal shirt and made him their oldest Premier League player.
Nevertheless, it's his first period with the club for which Lehmann will be most fondly remembered—and particularly that first season. While he was a combustible character, he was also an outstanding goalkeeper. After all, his title-winning campaign of 2003/04 saw the German international go the entire season unbeaten.
Succeeding Seaman was a huge task, but Lehmann had the personality and the ability to fill the void. He is surely Wenger's most successful acquisition over 30.
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