My Alternative Arsenal Top Five
I have written this piece in response to Brad Simkulet's article along the same lines and I suggest you read his also if you havn't already. I too was monitoring the pole with interest and have realised that it is necessary to take into consideration the fact that the majority of voters will only have witnessed the last decades worth or so of Arsenal players so there is bound to be slight bias towards the more recent players.
I'm only 22 so have only really considered the players that I have witnessed play for the club, which exemplifies the bias I highlighted above.
In my opinion the top 5 should have gone like this:
1. Tony Adams
2. Thierry Henry
3. Dennis Bergkamp
4. Ian Wright
5. David Seaman
I agree totally with Brad's view on Tony Adams. He is "Mr. Arsenal". I agree with all the reasons he gave. The thing that puts him above Henry in my opinion is his loyalty. Its rare characteristic in modern professionals. Henry says he loves the club, why then did he decide to leave? That's for another discussion though.
There is little to separate Henry and Adams. Henry was simply the greatest goalscorer the club has ever had. I think he scored as many crucial goals in his time at Arsenal than Ian Wright did, but both were great goalscorers. Henry was just a class above the rest during his peak though.
Dennis Bergkamp oozed class. He was a key player in so many recent successes. His ability on the ball was second to none. The reason Thierry Henry was so good had a lot to do with Bergkamp. Together, Henry and Bergkamp were amazing, they complimented each other so well.
Ian Wright was my favourite player when I was a young lad. Its only when i've got older that I have realised the limits to his ability. He was still a fantastic player, but when compared with Henry he was lacking. He still scored crucial goals and was a key figure in a lot of successes prior to Wenger and in Wenger's early days. The passion he showed towards the club also drags him up the list a few places.
David Seaman. In my opinion the best Premier League goalkeeper ever. Better than Schmeichel, better than Cech. He was Arsenal's number 1 for over a decade. He made very few mistakes, its just unfortunate that the ones he made were high profile. He along with Adams was the main reason for Arsenal's ability to win 1-0 under George Graham. They were very difficult to score against. He made so many fantastic saves. The obvious save that sticks out was the one in his last ever Arsenal season from Paul Peschisolido in the FA Cup semi final against Sheff Utd. The game that really sticks in my head though, was the one against Sampdoria away in the Cup Winners Cup semi Final in 1995. His penalty heroics inspired me to be a goalkeeper in my youth (unfortunately I didn't quite grow enough to carry it on through my teens, but that is moot point).
Plenty of other players could have made the top five, Pires and Vieira were close. Im sure all you Arsenal fans out there have your own opinions though.
