Having made 564 appearances during a golden era for Arsenal, former goalkeeper David Seaman can rightly lay claim to the tag ‘club legend’.
The Gunners were the scourge of the earliest online betting platforms with Seaman in goal, keeping a plethora of clean sheets and winning numerous major trophies.
As highlighted during a recent interview with Betway, the ex-England stopper played alongside some of the finest players ever to represent the club.
Seaman was tasked with identifying his Ultimate XI from his former teammates, and settled on the following line-up after plenty of head-scratching:
- GK: David Seaman
- RB: Lee Dixon
- CB: Tony Adams
- CB: Steve Bould
- LB: Nigel Winterburn
- CM: Patrick Vieira
- CM: Emmanuel Petit
- CM: Robert Pires
- FW: Thierry Henry
- FW: Dennis Bergkamp
- FW: Ian Wright
Seaman’s selections got us thinking – how many of the current Arsenal team come close to ousting any of the esteemed names on his list?
On-loan goalkeeper David Raya is a long way short of matching what Seaman achieved, so his claims can immediately be jettisoned.
The same applies to the current first-choice back four, none of whom can hold a candle to the players Seaman has chosen to start in front of him.
William Saliba arguably has the potential to force his way in at centre-back, although he undoubtedly still has a long way to go to match Adams or Bould.
Two of the midfield trio chosen by Seaman can be questioned, with Gilberto Silva having a strong case to be selected ahead of Emmanuel Petit.
Robert Pires’ presence in a three-man midfield is also debatable, with the Frenchman more commonly associated with playing in a wide role.
Of Arsenal’s current midfield, Declan Rice is the only player who could possibly come into contention for a berth in this hypothetical team.
The former West Ham United star has been likened to Partick Vieira, although those comparisons are a little premature given that he is yet to win anything with the club.
However, the 24-year-old still has time to become an Arsenal legend and prove to the doubters that he was worth the bumper fee the club paid to secure his services.
Moving to the front of Seaman’s team and it is impossible to have anything but admiration for Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright.
All three players were genuine superstars and deserve their places in any debates about the greatest forwards to represent the club.
Only Bukayo Saka comes anywhere close from the current team and he could easily become an all-time great if he continues to deliver the goods for Arsenal.
With that in mind, could this eventually become Arsenal’s strongest XI of the Premier League era? Ashley Cole would probably beg to differ!
- GK: David Seaman
- RB: Lee Dixon
- CB: Tony Adams
- CB: Steve Bould
- LB: Nigel Winterburn
- CM: Patrick Vieira
- CM: Declan Rice
- AM: Dennis Bergkamp
- FW: Thierry Henry
- FW: Ian Wright
- FW: Bukayo Saka