The 10 best Arsenal players who never won the Premier League
Imagine living in a world where you have not seen Arsenal win the Premier League. Could never be me.. anymore! During the Gunners 22-year title draught, plenty of top-class players did represent the club, even if they did not pick up the silverware to justify their quality. So, we count down the top ten from this period to never become Premier League champions.
10) Theo Walcott
It is perhaps overlooked quite how good Theo Walcott was in his prime. The winger spent 12 years at Arsenal, scoring 108 goals in 397 appearances, an impressive ratio, one of only 19 men to have surpassed 100 in the club's entire history.
Walcott, at his best, was perhaps the fastest player we have ever seen, registering 14 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League in 2012/13, never quite the same following a serious ACL rupture suffered against Tottenham in January 2014. Both for his quality and longevity, he has to be on this list.
9) Tomáš Rosický
Arsène Wenger famously said "if you love football, you love Tomáš Rosický". Nicknamed the Little Mozart, the Czech international was the first signing of the Emirates era, spending a decade in North London. The fact he made only 246 appearances for the club during this period was largely due to persistent injury issues, but Rosický's quality was never up for debate, earning him streets will never forget status among fans of a certain age.
8) Granit Xhaka
Of all the players from the Mikel Arteta-era who were not handed Premier League winners' medals at Selhurst, the manager himself may argue that Granit Xhaka was the most important. His career turnaround was quite unique, booed off by his own fans, albeit this was a massive misunderstanding, thereby pushing for a move to Hertha BSC when Arteta first arrived.
However, the new boss convinced him to stay, and Xhaka would prove an integral part of Arteta turning things around, given a hero's farewell when he did depart in 2022/23. A divisive figure for many years, the Swiss midfielder's importance to transforming Arsenal into what they become should not be forgotten.
7) Laurent Koscielny
During Arsenal's fallow years, we were looking for players that could slot into the very best Arsenal teams, and that certainly applies to Laurent Koscielny. The French centre-back made over 353 appearances during nine seasons in North London, winning three FA Cups, holding together a less than watertight back line. His partnership with Per Mertesacker was, for a period, the best in the Premier League.
6) Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey certainly holds cult hero status among Arsenal fans, scoring the winner in two FA Cup Finals will do that, but is his quality actually overlooked? Arriving from Cardiff City as a teenager, Ramsey of course suffered that horrific leg break at Stoke soon after, but recovered and made 369 appearances for the club, scoring 64 times. Around 2015, the Welshman was one of the best midfielders in the division, a player who would not look out of place in a title-winning side.
5) Emmanuel Adebayor
He may not be the most popular among Arsenal fans, to put it mildly, but we have to recognise Emmanuel Adebayor's quality. The Togolese striker joined from Monaco for just £3 million, scoring 62 times for the club, of which 24 came in the Premier League during 2007/08.
Adebayor was then sold to Manchester City for £25 million in the summer of 2009, right when their proven financial cheating began, not winning the Premier League there either, spending the 2011/12 season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur. For a man who scored almost 100 Premier League goals, Adebayor's ability is often forgotten by all.
4) Santi Cazorla
Now we come onto my personal favourite Arsenal player of all-time and that is Santi Cazorla. The Spanish midfield magician appeared 180 times for the club, scoring 29 goals, and was simply unique, considering his ambipedality. At just 5 ft 6 in, Cazorla was all about technical brilliance, something he had in abundance, and could easily fit into any title winning Arsenal team of the modern era.
3) Bacary Sagna
Without a doubt, one of the best players of the Emirates era under Wenger was Bacary Sagna. Arriving from Auxerre for just €9 million, the right-back appeared 284 times for the Gunners, and was undeniably one of the best players in his position in the Premier League. Prime Sagna might actually start for the Arsenal team that won the title in 2025/26, which is the highest compliment one could give.
Following the 2014 FA Cup triumph, the defender was tempted by the greater riches on offer at Manchester City, spending three seasons at the Etihad, albeit not winning the title there either.
2) Mesut Özil
Now we come to the obvious top two in this ranking. Mesut Özil may well be the ultimate luxury player, but his quality was undeniable. The night the German's move from Real Madrid was announced on deadline day in 2013 is genuinely one of the best moments as a Gooner in modern times.
The midfielder would go on to score 44 times for the club in 254 appearances, but is more widely known as the assist king, racking up 77 of those too. In a stronger Arsenal team, just imagine how good Özil would have been, given that he was pretty formidable in a generally average one.
1) Alexis Sánchez
When asked the question, if you could transplant any player from the Emirates era in their prime into this current Arsenal team, it has to be Alexis Sánchez. The Chilean, who arrived from Barcelona in 2014, was a genuine world class superstar, the likes of which Arsenal had not had for a decade.
In 166 appearances for the club, Alexis scored 80 goals and recorded 44 assists, thereby recording a goal contribution every 109 minutes. Of course, a move to Manchester United could have tarnished his legacy, albeit the fact he was absolutely terrible at Old Trafford means that is barely the case. Arteta's current team have a left-sided attacker problem, so just imagine how good Sánchez from ten years ago would be in this team.
