50 Years of Arsenal FC 1971-2021

Today 9th March 2021 marks the 50th Anniversary of my first ever visit to Highbury as a 6 ? year old to watch Arsenal beat FC Koln 2-1 in the European Fairs Cup 9th March 1971.

My first FA Cup Final came two months later, on Saturday 8th May 1971, at an extremely hot Wembley with another 2-1 victory this time against Liverpool, affectionately known as the Charlie George Cup Final. I never found out if Charlie’s goal celebration copied for many years thereafter, by kids up and down the country, was because he was knackered or was setting a new trend!

880 players have represented Arsenal in their history.

Here are the 50 players that I saw play live that left their mark on me and a little comment on my memory of each, that I would also like to thank.

The list is completely personal and not meant to be who I believe to be the top 50 players. My list starts with player no 495 George Armstrong and I know that there were some absolute legends before George and I thank them all collectively.

At the end I will reveal my top 3 players.

So, in chronological order of their debuts:

No 1 George Armstrong 24/02/1962. A wizard on the wing George was ridiculously underrated and a beautiful ballplayer. Thank you, George.

No 2 George Graham 01/10/1966. Amazing contribution to Arsenal both as a great player and dour yet highly successful manager. Wouldn’t stand fools. Thank you, Stroller.

No 3 Charlie George 09/08/1969. An incredible Arsenal man still to this day. Another that left too early and I saw him play too many brilliant games for Derby with that trendy perm! Thank you, Charlie.

No 4 Sammy Nelson 09/09/1969. Who can forget the night against Coventry where he scored an own goal and then made up for it at the other end before dropping his shorts in front of the North Bank! Thank you, Sammy.

No 5 Ray Kennedy 29/09/1969. Played striker for Arsenal scoring some fantastic and important goals like the one at White Hart Lane to win the 1971 League title, however another that left too early and ended up as a superstar left-sided midfielder for the mighty Liverpool teams of the late 1970’s. I regularly think about him and his long battle with Parkinsons. What a brave man. Thank you, Ray.

No 6 David Price 09/05/1973. Highly underrated workhorse in midfield that allowed Liam the freedom to dominate games. Every team needs a Pricey. Thank you, David.

No 7 Liam Brady 06/10/1973. Look at that oh look at that. You either know or you don’t. No point me writing war and peace about my favorite ever Arsenal player. I was there for his debut against Birmingham and at his testimonial in Dublin and what a night we had in Jurys and in Malahide. Completely heartbroken when he left for Juventus in 1980. I heard from other members of the squad that they were willing to take pay cuts to help pave the way for Liam staying. I credit Liam for my move to Dublin. He once gave me a video cassette of his games that was his only copy. I did return it to him 20 years later with a DVD version! Go raibh maith agat, Chippy.

No 8 Jimmy Rimmer 24/04/1974. Incredibly underrated keeper. At a time when Arsenal’s defence was a tad shoddy to say the least you could always rely on Jimmy to get us out of trouble. One of the best shot-stoppers you will ever see, if Jimmy were a couple of inches taller, he would have challenged Clemence and Shilton for the England job. Glad he got a debut against USA all the same. Thank you, Jimmy and your green sun hat!

No 9 Brian Kidd 17/08 1974. Came to Arsenal when we were transitioning from double winners to relegation fodder. Without Brian’s eye for goal, we may have been in trouble. Beautiful left foot. Thank you, Brian.

No 10 Trevor Ross 01/02/1975. When David Price wasn’t available Trevor Ross was. Did the same job, allowed Liam to work his magic. Thank you, Trevor.

No 11 Frank Stapleton 29/03/1975. Liam free-kick Stapleton scores with his head. How many times did we see that? But Frank was far more than that. An Arsenal legend, but only managed to stay a further year after Liam’s exit and went to Man United to further enhance his reputation as a great striker. Thank you, Frank.

No 12 David O’Leary 16/08/1975. Came at the right time when Arsenal were in dire need of a decent centre half. Stayed a couple of decades and dominated. Lovely man, always has time for a chat. Thank you, David.

No 13 Malcolm MacDonald 21/08/1976 10.8 for the hundred metres, appeared on Superstars. Put the ball through Liam, they will never catch him. You always thought Londoner Supermac was a Geordie. He was only an adopted one. I would like to have been in the negotiating room as the Toon asked for 1/3 million pounds. Unlike with Suarez and that ugly ￡40m +1 debacle we did round up the penny to make it 333,333.34. Thank you, Supermac.

No 14 Graham Rix 02/04/1977. Made an instant impression on his debut against Leicester and never looked back. Magnificent foil for Liam Brady and an England regular, his two perfect crosses against Man United in the 1979 Cup Final for the winner and at the Stadio Delle Alpi for Paul Vaessen’s late header to beat unbeatable Juventus will always be etched in my memory. Thank you, Rixey.

No 15 Pat Jennings 20/08/1977. Big Pat was one in a million. What a keeper. A reason Arsenal were dominant in the late 70’s and were able to beat anyone on their day. Sat next to the big man at Liam’s testimonial dinner in Dublin in 1991. A true gentleman too. Thank you, Pat.

No 16 Alan Sunderland 05/11/1977. Came to us from Wolves and turned into a brilliant dual centre forward with Frank Stapleton. 1979 Cup Final winner and a stunning hat trick at White Hart Lane were the moments. Thank you, Alan.

No 17 Brian Talbot 13/01/1979. Brian took the David Price/Trevor Ross role to the next level. Didn’t like him at first as he used to be brilliant against Arsenal for Ipswich every time we played them including the 1978 Cup Final when they were amazing and we were horrible. Glad he switched to Arsenal and of course opened the scoring in the 1979 Cup Final. Thank you, Brian.

No 18 Paul Davis 07/04/1980. Sweet left foot. Magnificent player. That ban he got in 1988 felt like half a season! Thank you, Paul.

No 19 Kenny Sansom 16/08/1980. Felt like kids swapping Panini stickers in the playground when we bought Clive Allen and then swapped him for a left back. I didn’t understand it at the time, even though Clive had a super career, I understood it thereafter as Kenny was just a magnificent left back. Thank you, Kenny.

No 20 Tony Adams 05/11/1983. Amazing that he started his career that early. Always felt later to me. His goal against Everton to win the title in 1998 and his arms outstretched celebration will live long in the memory. What was he doing up there anyway? Thank you, Tony.

No 21 David Rocastle 28/09/1985. Oh Rocky Rocky. If you weren’t an Arsenal fan you probably wouldn’t have understood what Rocky was all about. Brilliant on the pitch and a complete gentleman off the pitch, it says volumes that David Dein has a statue of Rocky’s legs in his home (It’s a long story). Meant everything to Arsenal fans and always will. Thank you, Rocky.

No 22 Martin Keown 23/11/1985. Came, went and boy am I glad he came back. A no nonsense defender, who can forget his “Eagle Pose” after Van Nistelrooy’s penalty miss in the Invincibles season. Thank you, Martin.

No 23 Niall Quinn 14/12/1985. Vastly underrated striker and great feet for a big man. Always bumping into Niall, a super gentleman. Thank you, Niall.

No 24 Paul Merson 22/11/1986 Forget the off field shenanigans, Merse was world class on his day. One of my favorite ever players. Continues to entertain on Saturday Soccer Special. Thank you, Merse.

No 25 Michael Thomas 08/02/1987. Thomasss! (Brian Moore was a genius). Enough said. Thank you, Michael.

No 26 Anders Limpar 25/08/1990. Ooh arr Limpar. Was Arsenal’s best player during the 90/91 season when Arsenal walked the league. Didn’t stay long but we won’t forget him. Thank you, Anders.

No 27 Ian Wright 25/09/1991. An incredible bit of business by David Dein as he jedi mind tricks Ron Noades to give Wrighty to Arsenal for peanuts. The rest is History. Just missed out on my top 3 players but who doesn’t love Ian Wright Wright Wright. Thank you, Wrighty.

No 28  Ray Parlour 29/01/1992. I met Pele on several occasions and asked him if he had heard of the Romford Pele. He said he isn’t the Romford Pele, I am the Santos Parlour!! Ray took the David Price, Trevor Ross, Brian Talbot role to the next level. 2002 FA Cup Final the “It’s only Ray Parlour” will live long in the memory. Another one of my favorite players. Thank you, Ray.

No 29 Dennis Bergkamp 20/08/1995. I’ve been lucky enough to watch football all over the world, and there are only a handful of players who completely mesmerized me. I have no idea how Arsenal even managed to attract such a player in his prime. Inter’s loss was Arsenal’s gain, and what a gain. My favorite Dennis moment didn’t even come in an Arsenal shirt but in the orange of Holland during the 1998 World Cup where we bamboozled an Argentinian defender having trapped a 60 yard ball in his stride and coolly slotted home. Yes he’s in my top three! Thank you, Dennis you absolute legend.

No 30 Patrick Vieira 16/09/1996. An early bit of Wenger magic brought Patrick over for peanuts as a complete unknown that turned into a colossus. Patrick just dominated the middle of the park and his ongoing spat with the grumpy Roy Keane made him extra special for me. His walking the ball into the net against Leicester for the winner on the last day of the 2003/4 Invincibles season always sticks out. Thank you, Patrick.

No 31 Emmanuel Petit 09/08/1997. Together with his countryman Vieira, he formed probably the greatest central midfield double act in Arsenal’s history. Together they guided Arsenal to multiple successes as well as won a World Cup together. Thank you, Manu.

No 32 Marc Overmars 09/08/1997. Someone cloned Anders Limpar and turned him into a Dutchman. We were lucky to have both, and I think Marc may have even taken it to the next level. He was electric. I had one beef with Marc and that is in 1998 when he scored that winner at Old Trafford he did this weird head movement that for a split second made my heart sink thinking the ref (it was probably Mike Dean) had blown for offside. Luckily, it was just a strange Dutch mimic for I think we may just have won the league. Thank you, Marc.

No 33 Freddie Ljungberg 20/09/1998. No Boystown Gang song or Freddie’s Red Hair version since he left, but we belted that out week after week in 2002 as he seemed to pop up every week with the winner. His goal against Chelsea in the 2002 FA Cup Final was Freddie at his peak. Thank you, Freddie.

No 34 Kanu 13/02/1999. No one ever knew Kanu’s age but this wasn’t kiddie football and even though he made many players look like they had just started playing at times. His skill levels were off the charts and even though he annoyed fans at times with his slightly carefree attitude, there were moments of sublime skill that were rarely repeated around the World. His hattrick in 11 minutes at Stamford Bridge in the slosh was one such incredible feat. Thank you, Kanu and hope you enjoy your 60th next August!

No 35 Thierry Henry 07/08/1999. Another Italian error, this time by Juventus who had no idea where to play Thierry, brought the young Frenchman to London at the perfect time. I felt vindicated for Juve pinching my idol Liam Brady off us 19 years earlier. Arsene turns Thierry into a striker and the rest is history. There are too many great moments to write about here but two stand out. His goal against Liverpool at home at Easter 2004 when Arsenal were losing where he seemed to go past the whole Liverpool team stands out and probably the greatest single performance I saw from an Arsenal player when Thierry scored 4 vs Leeds in April 2004, the last goal showing everyone exactly why he also makes my top 3. Merci, Thierry.

No 36 Robert Pires 19/08/2000. We knew Super Rob was good when he came as a World Cup winner but the best was yet to come. I guess playing with Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry helps, but seeing the whole team bow down to an injured Pires in the trophy celebrations of 2002 said it all. Just magical on his day and how you can chip Peter Schmeichel when he is as tall as the crossbar, showed his immense talent. Super, Super Rob. Merci Robert.

No 37 Lauren 19/08/2000. I have no idea why a grown man would get so much fun out of shouting “Come on Ralphie” at the top of his voice every time Lauren touched the ball, but it was just something we adopted in the North Bank at the time, that remains one of my favorite Arsenal memories. Ralph went from midfielder into a very dependable right back. Quiet and unassuming, he just got on with his job no matter how big the occasion. Thank you Ralphie!

No 38 Kolo Toure 11/08/2002. Kolo was so good at everything he put his mind to, he could play anywhere. A fantastic player for Arsenal he scored the only goal in both legs of the 2006 Champions League Semi Final in the Ferret game against Villareal. Thank you, Kolo.

No 39 Cesc Fabregas 29/10/2003 We pinched Cesc from La Masia and I don’t blame him for wanting to go back and play with his home team in what may be the greatest club side in the history of the game. It grates me that Arsenal fans booed him when he was at Chelsea because Arsenal could not afford to bring him back at the time. He still would smile at the fans giving him vitriol. Cesc is Arsenal through and through and I applaud the young man. He was possibly lacking a touch of pace but he still managed to go past the whole Tottenham team and score, which is still one of the most incredible goals seen at the Emirates. Oh and who can forget his brave effort clawing Arsenal back against Barcelona at the Emirates and scoring a penalty with a fracture in his leg. Gracias, Cesc, don’t listen to them they love you really.

No 40 Jose Antonio Reyes 01/02/2004. What an incredible player Jose Antonio was with his incredible pace and great touch. He took a while to settle in but once fully established became a crowd favorite. I was stricken with grief when we heard of his untimely death in 2019. He will always be in our hearts. Gracias Jose Antonio.

No 41 Robin Van Persie 08/08/2004. Another that Arsene managed to convert from a winger into one of the deadliest strikers in the World. Robin was purchased for an incredible ￡2.5m and scored some absolutely sensational goals for Arsenal. Again instead of thanking him for what he did in the shirt he was the subject of the same boo boys as Cesc. Shame really because he gave us years of service and made us a whack load of money. Thank you, Robin.

No 42 Theo Walcott 19/08/2006. I feel like I’ve known Theo all my life because it feels like he started playing for Arsenal when he was about 6 years old. I wasn’t sure for a long time about Theo and his sub performances, but he certainly was a crowd favorite and he grew on me. My favorite Theo game was against Newcastle in a 7-3 win in December 2012, when he had one of those games for the ages. I think he will still be playing when I’m long gone! Thank you, Theo, Theo, Theo.

No 43 Aaron Ramsey 13/08 2008. Surprisingly Aaron joined Arsenal from Cardiff when he was courted by the whole of Europe and what a player he turned out to be. Scoring winners in countless Cup Finals and his general demeanour makes Aaron my favourite player of the last 10 years anyway. Thank you, Aaron.

No 44 Samir Nasri 16/08/2008. You couldn’t get the ball off Zinedine Zidane and one other, Samir Nasri. It was difficult to replace Robert Pires but Samir did a great job. Sometimes criticized by fans for his slightly carefree attitude, Samir still gave us plenty to remember. Thank you, Samir.

No 45 Jack Wilshere 13/09/2009. I thought here was the second coming of Liam Brady. On his day Jack was incredible eg at home to Barcelona. Blighted by injuries but a beautiful touch player to this day. Thank you, Jack.

No 46 Laurent Koscielny 15/08/2010. Plucked from the French equivalent of Leyton Orient, Kos became the heart and soul of the defence for the best part of the last decade. It’s a shame the ending was a bit sour for him but still an important figure in my eyes. Thank you, Laurent.

No 47 Santi Cazorla 18/08/2012. Santi was such a popular figure at Arsenal with his incredible play and big smile. He went through an impossible injury and still came back. Dragged us back in the Hull Cup Final with a timely goal. Thank you, Santi.

No 48 Mesut Ozil 14/09/2013. Ozil was one of the best players in the world when he came to Arsenal and some of his performances especially for Germany had to be seen to be believed. His introvert nature meant that he wasn’t a natural leader that people wanted to see. It’s ok playing with Ronaldo etc but being asked to lead the troops was alien to him. His performance against Chelsea in the 2017 FA Cup Final reminded everyone what his capabilities were. Te?ekkürler Mesut.

No 49 Alexis Sanchez 10/08/2014. Never got what the fuss was about when he was at Barcelona but when he arrived at Arsenal he was my favorite player of the last decade (along with Aaron Ramsey). A complete combative warrior, Alexis was another player who probably regretted leaving Arsenal, but while he was with us, he was sheer magic. Thank you, Alexis.

No 50 Last but not least, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 03/02/2018. The nearest thing Arsenal have had to Thierry Henry, who could not love that smile and that carefree attitude. Having plied his trade in Germany certainly toughened up Auba, and scoring the winner in last season's FA Cup Final again against Chelsea was a high point. Thank you Auba.

Other thanks go to:

The Commissionaires who let you into the West Stand Upper via a door, who knew we were in D3/D4 even though we never had our tickets with us. We ended up leaving our red plastic colourful season ticket book with them after a while. You couldn’t get away with that today!

Brian Moore, John Motson and Barry Davies whom I would pester on the times that Arsenal were on the Big Match and Match of the Day. Running up the stairs to see the cameras positioned near the Highbury Clock meant we were on TV. I insisted on a 2.15 arrival to give me time to soak in the atmosphere and ask the three legends as many questions as I could. Our tickets were about 10 yards from they would commentate. Brian Moore had me going for years that he was an avid Arsenal fan (which he wasn’t).

Arsene Wenger for turning the club into a heavyweight and assembling the greatest team the world has ever seen. I’m not sure if anyone will ever go unbeaten again. Thank you Arsene. The Kroenke era must have been terribly frustrating for you.

David Dein for bringing Arsene to the club and in your own words overseeing a club that punched above its own weight for years. April 2007 was a desperately sad time as the greatest ever club administrator was unjustly ushered off the premises. I’m sorry things didn’t work out as they should have and you would have made a fine Chairman that’s for sure. But no one can deny your role in taking Arsenal to the top table of World Football.

Ken Friar for holding the keys to the fort since I was born anyway. An absolute gentleman every time we met. You and Sir Phil are what’s left of the Old Guard. Protect the club please.

The Hill-Wood family for being the best Chairmen of the Club for the best part of a century.

To my Dad who took me to that FC Koln match 50 years ago today. This is all your fault!

To my Uncle who watched more games with me than anyone else

To my two Grandad’s one who took me to my first England match at Wembley a 1-3 reversal against the green-shirted Germans in 1973 and the other who took me to many other games.

To my brother whom I somehow turned into a Tottenham fan so we could have some banter. Many apologies!

To my son, who actually went to his first game aged 5 ? in 2002 which was the game v Newcastle 3-0 where Robert Pires injured his cruciate. I hope you see better days ahead.

My favorite three players: Thierry Henry, Liam Brady and Dennis Bergkamp (no particular order).

Finally not a thanks but a request to the Kroenke’s. I hope you realise what this great club means to so many of us, try not to turn into solely into a business, it’s so much more than that.

If you got to the end you are very brave and I thank you.

Here’s to the next 50 years.

Birol.