Arsenal FC: Gunners' 20 Coolest Players of All Time

Define cool.

When you're done thinking about it, consider this: It's easier to say what is cool than it is to define what cool is.

What do we mean by that? We mean that, for Arsenal fans, Thierry Henry is cool, even if we can't exactly say why.

It might be because he was so great for Arsenal or it might be because of the way he carried himself.

We don't really know. All we know is this: cool is as cool does.

Got it? Cool.

20. John Jensen

Jensen, a Danish international, became a bit of a cult hero among Arsenal fans while he played at Highbury from 1992-96.

He joined the Gunners immediately after helping Denmark win Euro 1992 (he scored in the final) and promptly won over fans.

One thing he didn't do, though, was score.

Until one night against QPR, when he scored his only Arsenal goal—a beauty, eh?—and cemented his status as a cult hero.

19. Theo Walcott

I'm not English. I'm American. So I might be way off here.

Anyway, out of all the current Arsenal players, I'd want to get a beer with Theo Walcott the most.

Robin van Persie? Great player, but he seems a little too straitlaced.

Andrey Arshavin? No. Just no.

Jack Wilshere? In my country, he can't even drink legally yet.

Aaron Ramsey? Dittos.

Theo Walcott seems like a cool dude. And his girlfriend is a stone-cold fox. Maybe he'd bring her to the pub.

18. Alan Sunderland

Why is Alan Sunderland cool?

He's cool because he rocked the white-boy 'fro back in the day.

Well played, Sunderland. Well played.

17. Ray Parlour

Why is Ray Parlour cool?

Ray Parlour is not cool. He's unglamorous. He's the opposite of cool.

That's why he's cool.

It's, like, the law of the Tao, dude. The more you know, the less you understand.

Oh, and he's also the Romford Pele.

16. Jens Lehmann

Jens Lehmann was a heck of a goalkeeper.

Also, he was and still is crazy. Really, really, hilariously crazy.

Crazy can be cool too.

15. David Seaman

Any man who has the huevos to wear a mustache like that deep into the 2000s—and, really, he just doesn't look right without it—is cool.

14. Fred Beardsley

Who is Fred Beardsley?

Fred Beardsley was one of the guys who founded Arsenal and the dude most responsible for the team's kit. He also played a couple games.

That's pretty dang cool.

Nice mustache, by the way.

13. David O'Leary

Nobody has played more games for Arsenal than David O'Leary.

It's hard to be cooler than that.

But we'll press on anyway.

12. Sylvain Wiltord

For one reason, and one reason only.

For the match-winning, title-winning, double-clinching goal he scored at Old Trafford in May 2002.

11. Nwankwo Kanu

He was such a weird dude on and off the field. He did that dance and sometimes he just really didn't seem to care.

But then he'd play the most beautiful football.

10. Martin Keown

For one reason, and only one reason.

For the Ruud van Nistelrooy incident.

Hilarious to this day.

9. Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas scored that goal against Liverpool.

If you don't know which one, you're not an Arsenal fan.

8. Charlie Nicholas

Champagne Charlie.

Charlie Nicholas earned the nickname for the flair of his play, as well as his lifestyle in London.

He looks kinda like '80s-era mullet Bono in that picture, too. So cool.

7. Freddie Ljungberg

Either you get it or you don't. Either you're an Arsenal fan or you're not.

Freddie Ljungberg changed his hairstyle (and color) like he changed his socks. Arsenal fans thought it was cool.

Everybody else probably thought he was weird.

But how can you hate on any Swedish person?

6. Charlie George

Charlie George was a fan favorite at Arsenal for his way-cool (at the time) long hair and his fiery temperament.

Plus, there was that one celebration after the match-winner against Leeds in the 1971 FA Cup final.

And then there's the whole thing about him being a local boy.

5. Ian Wright

Before Thierry Henry came along, Arsenal never had a forward quite like Ian Wright—or a better one, for that matter.

Wright left Arsenal as the club's leading goal scorer, and when Henry broke Wright's scoring record, it was a passing of the torch in more than one way.

4. Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp was the Iceman.

Why? Because he dismantled teams with cold precision.

3. Liam Brady

Liam Brady was a brilliant playmaker.

"Chippy" had everything a great footballer needed: Skill, toughness, intelligence and great dribbling.

With Brady, Arsenal played flowing football worthy of beating Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup final. And a generation of English and Irish boys grew up idolizing him.

Without Brady, Arsenal wasn't the same again for several years.

2. Tony Adams

Tony Adams is Mr. Arsenal.

Adams made 669 appearances and won 10 trophies with the club.

He never played for another club, at youth or senior level.

That's cool.

1. Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry finally won the Champions League with Barcelona, but he'll always be an Arsenal man.

There's really no need to explain his coolness. He was the manifestation of Arsene Wenger's va-va-voom revolution at Arsenal—and he did it with style.

In just 380 matches with Arsenal, he scored an astounding 226 goals, a club record.

It doesn't get any cooler than that.

Well, maybe this.