The Premier League are set to introduce a new Hall of Fame.
You may have seen the news today that the Premier League are set to introduce a new Hall of Fame.
The English top flight have announced this exciting move on their official site and describe it as being the highest honour a former player can receive at this level.
They say the first two inductees will be announced on March 19, and one imagines there will at some point be a fair few Arsenal legends in there.
We’ve come up with five who surely have to be assured of a place there in the future, and while there’s a case for many more also making it in, see what you think of our list below…
Thierry Henry
This is not just Arsenal bias speaking – many people who’ve watched the Premier League down the years will agree that Thierry Henry is quite possibly the best player to ever feature in the competition.
At his peak, the Frenchman was the perfect all-round forward, winning four Golden Boots on his way to managing a total of 175 Premier League goals – until recently making him the highest ever overseas scorer at this level until Sergio Aguero overtook him.
But on top of his goals, Henry was also a master creator, and currently holds the record for most assists in a single Premier League campaign with 20 in 2002/03, when he also scored 24 times himself.
And on top of all of that, Henry was above all an entertainer, playing the game with a style and flair reminiscent of Ronaldinho at his peak, all while finding the ruthless end-product to justify it all. English football has never seen anything quite like him since and may never again.
Dennis Bergkamp
A player who changed the Premier League for the better when he joined, Dennis Bergkamp was one of the first truly great foreign imports into this league.
The Dutchman lifted Arsenal to a new level when he first moved to Highbury, and in the end he lifted the whole English game as well, scoring some memorable goals, including probably the best ever to nestle in the back of a Premier League net…
Ian Wright
Slightly underrated by non-Arsenal fans, it would be great to see Ian Wright given this deserved honour after such a superb career in the Premier League.
Like Henry, Wright was such a superbly complete footballer who not only scored goals, but scored beautiful ones, and made an often unwatchable Arsenal team watchable before Arsene Wenger came along and created a team much better suited to the talents of Henry and Bergkamp and co.
Patrick Vieira
A midfield machine, Patrick Vieira was a world class performer and great leader for us for many years and surely has to be one of the first players on the Premier League’s list.
The likes of Gerrard, Scholes, Lampard and Keane will no doubt get a *lot* of hype, but at his peak there can be no question Vieira was up there with all of them in terms of talent, mentality and sheer impact for his club.
Tony Adams
Another great Arsenal captain, Tony Adams is, rather like Wrighty, now somewhat underrated by non-Gooners. Some great defenders like Rio Ferdinand and John Terry have since graced this league, but few can claim to have carried on playing at such a high level as Adams did.
The former Gunners skipper captained us to title wins in three different decades and managed to overcome some difficult demons from his personal life to extend his career and lift major trophies with us right until the end.