If there’s been one criticism of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal that has been levelled at the North Londoners more often than not in the last six years or so, it’s that the Gunners are far too easy and soft to play against at times.
While there’s no precise point to mark the moment in which Arsene Wenger decided to stray away from having multiple physical units in his winning team towards trying to throw as many diminutive attackers as possible into his starting eleven, many often claim it was Cesc Fabregas who started to alter the Frenchman’s thinking.
Becoming an Arsenal captain early on in his footballing career and wowing everybody with his technique and guile, it seems that since then, Arsene Wenger has somewhat forgot everything that made him so successful in the early years of his days in England.
Lacking real leaders in the Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira mould nowadays, this has been part of the reason why Arsenal have only been making up the top four as opposed to more regularly fighting for Premier League titles.
Having scooped two back-to-back FA Cup triumphs, the signs are that Arsenal are on the march again but as we’ve seen in recent seasons, their title credentials are being written off again in part due to the fact that they lack a dominating physical presence that can stand up when the going gets tough.
With this theme in mind, we’re feeling a little nostalgic in the Football Transfer Tavern this evening while devising a list of five of the hardest Arsenal players of the last 10 years.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 hardest Arsenal players of the last 10 years.
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Gilberto Silva
A loyal servant of Arsenal for six years, former Brazilian international Gilberto Silva was definitely one of the Gunners’ best bargain buys having picked him up from Atletico Mineiro for just £4.5 million in 2002.
With the transfer market having been revolutionised for the worse since those heady days, Gilberto gave Arsenal so much in the midfield for just over £4 million.
Combative, athletic and also capable of bagging a goal every now and again, Gilberto was always willing to put his foot in while never shying away from physical battles with the opposition.
Nowadays, the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia look like a modern-day Gilberto and he would’ve been perfect for the Gunners claim our resident Arsenal fans but Arsene Wenger’s loss was of course Inter Milan’s gain this summer.
Sol Campbell
Representing the Gunners in two separate spells and scoring a Champions League Final goal that oh so nearly brought European glory for Arsene Wenger, Sol Campbell is most definitely one of their best ever defenders.
Figuring just shy of 150 times for the Gunners in the Premier League with both spells combined, Campbell was a leader of men and marshalled those around him effectively while putting the Gunners’ starting eleven at large, at ease.
Tidying up and keeping it simple ahead of playing the ball forward to the likes of Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg to wreak havoc, Campbell was also an incredible asset when going up against powerful opposition forwards, winning these physical battles and nullifying the attacking threat around him.
Mathieu Flamini
Not the most popular figure in Arsenal’s current squad with many Gooners having written him off as somebody who is not good enough to be in a Premier League title winning team, we shouldn’t forget that Mathieu Flamini has given a lot to the Arsenal cause in the past.
Most definitely on the comedown now given he is ageing, Flamini has as the football cliche goes, always given 110 per cent for the Gunners cause, flying in with sliding tackles and grabbing opposition shirts when the referee isn’t looking.
Sometimes this has proved a burden to Arsenal with the Frenchman often picking up silly yellow cards but earlier in his Gunners career during his first spell, his never-say-die attitude was rather infectious and part of the reason he thought he could do better when the bright lights of AC Milan came calling back in 2008.
Lauren
Arsenal fans will always fondly remember the heated episode away at Manchester United when Ruud van Nistelrooy missed his penalty against Jens Lehmann, hitting the bar ahead of being taunted – and jumped upon – by Martin Keown.
Shortly after Keown created that now infamous image above the Dutchman, players such as Ray Parlour, Ashley Cole and this man Lauren were involved in shoving the pesky van Nistelrooy to really prove who was boss.
Ah, Arsenal fans miss those days!
But in Lauren, this what we have to deem foul gamesmanship was part of the Cameroonian’s game with the full back a rugged competitor in an Arsenal squad that were of course Invincibles back in 2003/04.
Always up for a battle, Arsenal seem to have opted for more elegant options in most positions more recently. You only have to look at current first choice Hector Bellerin to prove that.
Patrick Vieira
Saving the best until last, Patrick Vieira is the Arsenal equivalent of Manchester United’s Roy Keane in the fact that he was the ultimate leader during his distinguished spell at the North London club.
The closest thing we’ve seen to Vieira in the Premier League ever since is probably Yaya Toure and the Manchester City man’s long striding runs through midfield were first popularised by Vieira between 1996 and 2005 where he was a sheer powerhouse in Arsene Wenger’s armoury.
Winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cup’s in his time at Highbury, much of Arsenal’s success was down to Vieira who not only intimidated opponents but also inspired others around him to give everything for the cause, such were his leadership abilities.
