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Arsene Wenger's all-time Arsenal XI by games played

To mark the two-year anniversary of Arsene Wenger's final game as Arsenal boss, Sports Mole looks at his all-time XI in terms of players he used most often.

Arsenal's most successful era officially came to an end on this day two years ago, when Arsene Wenger took charge of his 1,235th and final game.

During that time the Gunners won three Premier League titles, a whopping seven FA Cups and seven Community Shields, in addition to reaching the final of the 2005-06 Champions League.

Wenger's record becomes even more impressive when you delve deeper into it, with two league and cup doubles in addition to the crowning glory of his time at the club - the unbeaten league season of 2003-04.

The relationship between the club's fans and the Frenchman had turned sour by the time he eventually decided to leave, although there was a celebratory atmosphere for his farewell - a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town on May 13, 2018.

By that stage many of his most successful players had left the club, but some stalwarts remained and here Sports Mole has compiled the starting XI of players who featured most regularly under Wenger at Arsenal.



Arsenal XI AW

David Seaman unsurprisingly gets the gloves in this XI, having featured 238 times for the Gunners under the Frenchman. During that time he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, although he had left and been replaced by Jens Lehmann by the time of the 'Invincibles'.

Lee Dixon was a fixture at right-back for years at Arsenal, spanning into the Wenger era too, but Bacary Sagna beats both him and Lauren into the right-back spot by virtue of playing 284 times under Wenger - more than any other full-back.

The Gunners were famed for their centre-backs for many years, both before Wenger and during his early years, but the likes of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Sol Campbell all miss out on this XI.

Instead, Kolo Toure, who made 327 appearances under Wenger after joining as a relative unknown in 2002, makes up the first centre-back spot and is joined by Laurent Koscielny, who is only three appearances behind on 324 across all competitions.

Any Wenger XI based purely on quality would surely have Ashley Cole at left-back, but his departure for Chelsea means that he is only third on the list of appearances by left-backs under the Frenchman, behind Kieran Gibbs and Gael Clichy, the latter of whom played 264 times for Arsenal.

Freddie Ljungberg will go down as one of Wenger's best signings, but he misses out on the right flank to Theo Walcott. Indeed, no-one played more often for Wenger than Walcott, who turned out a whopping 397 times between 2006 and 2018, while only two players scored more goals.

Second in the list of appearance-makers under Wenger is Patrick Vieira, who featured 388 times for his compatriot after joining in the same summer. Vieira went on to establish himself as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players, helping them to three Premier League titles and three FA Cups, lifting the 2003-04 title as captain following an unbeaten campaign.

The likes of Ray Parlour, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Petit and Gilberto Silva all shone in the middle of the park during Wenger's time as Arsenal boss, but Aaron Ramsey is the man to partner Vieira courtesy of his 329 outings from 2008 to 2019.

Ljungberg could have played on the left too, but in terms of pure left midfielders Robert Pires was the best, and featured most often in that position, during his compatriot's time in charge.

The winger made 283 appearances for Arsenal and played a crucial role in the title successes of 2001-02 and 2003-04, being named FWA Footballer of the Year in the former.

Two more Premier League legends lead the line too, with the number of games played tallying up with Arsenal's two best forwards of the Wenger era, or indeed of any era.

Thierry Henry would be the first name on any all-time XI team sheet for Arsenal and is widely seen as Wenger's biggest success story, switching him from a left-winger to one of the most devastating forwards of his generation.

The World Cup winner scored a club-record 228 goals in his 375 outings under Wenger, helping them to two league titles and two FA Cups including, of course, being the jewel in the crown of the Invincibles.

Dennis Bergkamp is not far behind in the affections of the Arsenal supporters, though; the classy Dutchman was brought to the club by Bruce Rioch but enjoyed his very best years under Wenger, scoring 96 goals in 363 outings during the Frenchman's time in charge - only Walcott, Vieira and Henry featured more.

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Barney Corkhill
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger watches on during a Premier League clash with Huddersfield Town on May 13, 2018
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