In celebration of the sporting decade that is coming to a close, writers from The Athletic have been picking their teams of the 2010s — here, Amy Lawrence names her Arsenal XI…
Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
Arsenal had two pedigree goalkeepers during the decade: Wojciech Szczesny in the first half and Cech in the second. Midway through the decade, the Premier League’s golden glove, the prize for the best goalkeeper, was shared by them both. Strangely symbolic, in a way.
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The unfortunate thing for Arsenal is that they employed both players in the wrong half of the decade, at stages when neither were at their best. Cech, at his peak, won the Champions League and Premier League before coming to Arsenal, where his powers began to wane. Szczesny went on to win Serie A and establish himself with Juventus once his raw potential matured after leaving Arsenal.
Choosing one is a slightly unsatisfying task in the knowledge that neither was at their pomp during their Emirates years. Cech may not have saved Arsenal the “12 or 15 points a season” his old team-mate John Terry predicted, but a player capable of winning 14 major trophies in this career ought to edge it.
Right-back: Bacary Sagna
Leaving the pitch in Arsenal colours for the last time, Sagna was overwhelmed by tears. The Frenchman spent seven years at the club, made almost 300 appearances, and displayed a level of consistency that made him much-loved. In 2014, on the pitch at Wembley, with the FA Cup in his arms, the act of saying goodbye was too much for him. As he knelt on the grass, Arsene Wenger kissed him on the head in what became a poignant image.
Arsenal, Sagna said, “was a family to me, a club who taught me so much, a club who changed the kid I was into the man I am.” Nobody begrudged him a free transfer to Manchester City, with the promise of a handsome pay rise in 2014. Although, as it turned out, he was never quite as much of a regular or quite as admired there as he was in north London.
Centre-back: Per Mertersacker
The “Big Friendly German”, as he has had to call himself in a reworking of the more irreverent chant Arsenal fans serenaded him with, arrived at the club during a memorably turbulent period in August 2011. The team had just been humiliated by a now infamous 8-2 scoreline inflicted at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford. Wenger was forced into a crazed supermarket sweep of new players before transfer deadline day to try to repair the horrifying damage.
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Mertesacker turned out to be the best of the bunch. Certainly, he had the biggest impact on the club, on and off the field, as a defender, a character, a leader, and now the head of the academy looking after future generations. He was integral to Arsenal winning three FA Cups in four seasons. For the last one, the centurion with 104 caps for his country came back from nowhere after months on the sidelines to join a makeshift defence and put on a vintage display.
Centre-back: Laurent Koscielny
It might feel raw still, given the acrimony of his sudden departure last summer, but in time, Koscielny’s nine seasons at Arsenal should be fondly remembered. A centre-back with excellent recovery pace and the determination to chase the most difficult causes, he was often the last line of defence and put heart and soul into that responsibility.
First spotted playing through the lower divisions in France — at one point, he was in the third tier — Wenger was proud of how Koscielny developed to become what he described as “a huge player” for Arsenal. He had a knack for scoring important goals too, such as the equaliser in the 2014 FA Cup final, where he injured himself making sure the ball went over the line.
Towards the end, he played through the pain barrier, having recovered from a ruptured Achilles that robbed him of a place in France’s victorious 2018 World Cup squad. “To play again,” he said, “is the best trophy I could have.”
Left-back: Nacho Monreal
The term ‘GOAT’ in football is more commonly understood to be part of the ‘greatest of all time’ debates. Where Monreal is concerned, it has a slightly less ambitious connotation. His nickname when growing up was La Cabra, the Spanish word for goat, and marvellously, the English version stuck at Arsenal.
In January 2013, he woke up one day and had two missed calls from former Malaga team-mate Santi Cazorla. Was he interested in moving to Arsenal? Ten hours later, he was signed. “Sometimes, football is simple,” he said. He kept it simple, and everyone at Arsenal had the utmost admiration for that.
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Every team needs a Nacho Monreal. Every team needs someone so utterly dependable, so flexible, so likeable that they will willingly do just about anything for the good of the team. Left-back, wing-back, centre-back; Monreal handled them all during his six and a half seasons.
Centre-midfield: Santi Cazorla
“Being tall isn’t what makes you a good footballer and I don’t think that’s the defining factor in English football at all.” So says Cazorla, and he provided every inch of proof in the way he played.
Wenger signed a little magician in the man from Asturias, who cast a spell in the way he played both technically and emotionally. “I like to smile,” Cazorla says. “I try to bring happiness. I don’t understand how you play football without joy.”
Enviably two-footed, easily expressing his talent linking midfield to attack, Cazorla was at times sensational. Also vital. His free-kick to turn the tide of a two-goal deficit in the 2014 FA Cup final was a pivotal moment in Arsenal’s challenging post-Highbury years.
Following dreadful complications to an Achilles injury, Cazorla’s chances of playing again were slim but he has defied the odds to return to the pitch in style in La Liga and for Spain. That’s a joy, not just for him but for anyone who loves watching football.
Centre-midfield: Aaron Ramsey
In trying to sum up Ramsey’s influence at Arsenal, look no further than the fact he is the highest-scoring midfielder in the club’s history. A box-to-box talent who always ran with bold abandon, he played as if he always believed he could make a difference.
His fondness for an instinctive flick or a pirouette was unshakeable. Sometimes, he would try things in reckless positions but in the right moments, he would split a defence, or arrive in the box and relish those chances.
He joined Arsenal aged 17, overcame a double leg break at 19 and never let anything hold him back. The other contenders over the decade are Cesc Fabregas (a wonderful player, but he left 19 months into the decade) and Jack Wilshere (so much promise repeatedly blighted by injury). Ramsey’s impact, as the scoring hero to win two FA Cup finals among all his other goals from midfield, was unmatched.
Attacking-midfield: Mesut Ozil
Arsenal signing Ozil from Real Madrid on deadline day in September 2013 had all the hallmarks of a brave new world. It was a statement transfer, obliterating their previous record, involving an A-lister at the age of 24 with the promise of his best years ahead of him. After several years perceived as a selling club, Ozil’s arrival felt transformative.
For a while, he was. The club had some fun with the ‘How may I assist you?’ catchphrase, as Ozil continued his extraordinary numbers for goal and chance creation. Yes, people analysed his laconic body language. Yes, he was seldom the dominant player in the toughest, most physical away games. But with his gossamer touches, he did more than enough to put Arsenal in the position where they felt obliged to offer him a stupendous £350,000-a-week to extend his contract.
They feel saddled with that now and the Ozil question has become a bewildering one, especially given how tricky his relationship is with manager Unai Emery. But over the decade, for pure skill factor, Ozil’s flashes of technical brilliance are not easily surpassed.
Forward: Alexis Sanchez
Recent history has been so unkind to Sanchez, it is easy to forget the dynamism with which he attacked the Premier League when he arrived at Arsenal in 2014. Perpetual motion, hunger, low centre of gravity; he tore into defences and generally left markers with twisted blood. The Emirates crowd adored him enough to adorn the stadium with a flag in honour of his dogs.
Wenger loved his street-football attitude. “He has a natural level of energy that is unbelievable. You would love everyone to have it but it does not work like that,” he said. Arriving the summer after Ozil, the pair struck up an on-pitch rapport that bought out the best in both of them.
As a character, Sanchez always did his own thing, so he was not always a classic team player but his individual play was often dazzling. He clocked up double figures of goals and assists in each of his three full seasons before defecting in January 2018 to play piano at Manchester United.
Forward: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
First of all, an honourable if bizarre mention of Thierry Henry. Having been The Man the decade beforehand, Henry only played seven times for Arsenal in the 2010-20 era. But he was arguably one of the best strikers in that period — even if it was a short but emotionally-loaded loan spell.
More seriously, Aubameyang is an Henry-type of player in that the quality of movement, the speed, the inventiveness of the finish, the goal ratio all score highly in his attributes. The Gabon international has been an exemplary presence on and off the field since joining Arsenal in January 2018. Only six players in the history of the club (most of them from the 1930s to the 1960s) reached 50 goals quicker than Aubameyang.
His predatory consistency has been a class above the other striking contenders of this era such as Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski or his current team-mate and great friend Alexandre Lacazette.
Forward: Robin van Persie
There is an ongoing warmth in the way Van Persie and Wenger speak about each other, despite the controversy of the parting of the ways when the Frenchman allowed the Dutch forward to leave for Manchester United in 2012. “I am very proud of Robin’s success because it was not always obvious,” Wenger said. “I was very patient with him and for me, he became one of the best players in the world as a striker.”
An outsider, a rebel, a maverick in his youth, Van Persie joined Arsenal at the age of 20 and blossomed beautifully. Technical accuracy, imagination, a fierce winning mentality and creative bravery all came naturally to him. Once harnessed, he transitioned from the left or playmaker position into a full-blown striker capable of taking the baton from Henry, winning the Premier League golden boot and the PFA Player of the Year award.
(Photo: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
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