By Jahid Islam
Hello, readers of We Love You Arsenal! I’m Jahid (@jahidfullstop) back with another article for you beautiful people!
Today’s piece of barely-structured waffle looks at my picks for the club legends and icons to be immortalised in bronze outside the Emirates, and will be interrupted with my ‘gonzo’ journalism from here in the tea gardens of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Boredom, boiling heat, and bucketloads of insomnia that I just can’t manage to shake off since coming here. The silver lining is that it provides me ample opportunity to pump out plenty of articles for you guys!
I think we can all agree that Arsene Wenger’s statue was well overdue, but the club was clearly waiting until we were in a good place prior to memorialising the club’s greatest ever manager. 20 something years in charge, 3 Premier Leagues, 7 FA Cups, 20 consecutive top 4 finishes, but you know the stats already. I’m sure I’m also not the only one who wholeheartedly believed that the club was named after him. It took an embarrassingly long time for me to be dissuaded of that misconception (I was 14).
Thierry Henry’s had his knee sliding statue outside of the stadium for a while now, joined by Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, and Herbert Chapman. It was only a matter of time before another bronze figure of an Arsenal icon popped up around the circumference of the Ems. I’m actually not sure what material the statues are, bronze? Copper? Who knows.
Regardless, the Premier League ‘Hall-of-Famer’ has had his well-earned flowers given to him over the last few years under Arteta. From the players high-fiving a picture of Wenger before training to Wenger coming back to watch a game at the Emirates for the first time since he left, which was baffling to me. Arteta was of course one of Wenger’s captains, and speaks highly of the suave Frenchman who’s likeness is the first thing that pops into my mind when someone tells me to do a French accent. Here’s one:
“Uhhhh I sink zat Mikel is doing a vonderfool job at ze cloob, and ve vill challenge for ze league again sis seazon. To see myself in bronze outsiiide ze stadyuum, uhh, to see zis club give me so much love, ahh c’est magnifique.”
C’est magnifique indeed Monsieur Wenger, but should we talk about who else should join you in bronze in the courtyard-bit around the stadium? “Vell yes of course, othervise you von’t have an article to post zis week!”
Ian Wright (Wright Wright):
If he wasn’t a club legend through his on-the-pitch excellence, 128 goals in 221 games, then his recent cult status due to his continued close association with the club should be more than enough. His magnetic personality, love for the club, and admiration from all the players should solidify himself as a club icon immortalised in bronze. I’m going with bronze.
Wright doesn’t just support the men’s team, but all the Arsenal squads. The lads, the lasses, the kids, all of them. And he does it with all of his ‘pashun and desiyah’. An infectious smile on its own doesn’t earn you a statue, but add bucketloads of goals and show a tonne of love for the club and you’ll win the hearts of the fanbase who’ll demand one for you.
Kelly Smith:
With women’s football increasing in popularity and stature globally, Arsenal’s ladies have played a huge role in inspiring millions of young footballers across the world and progressing the game to where it is now. There’s a long list of players who may be in contention for a statue alongside other club legends; Kim Little, Faye White, Emma Byrne, and many more. But there’s one name that stands out. Well actually, there are two, but keep reading to find out more!
Kelly Smith. 4 Premier Leagues, 3 FA Cups, 2 Premier League Cups, 1 UEFA Cup. Nice little countdown there. She also bagged hella goals over three different spells at the club, interrupted by injury and periods in the more competitive Women’s Soccer League in the States, and might be one of the greatest women’s footballers of all time.
So yeah, a statue might be well deserved. I mean, Hope Powell (England head coach at the time) called her a ‘Maradonna or Messi' level player in the women’s game.
Patrick Vieira:
Who else but the captain of the Invincible campaign? One of the greatest central midfielders ever to lace the boots, and certainly the best to ever rub Vicks vapour rub on his chest. I used to do it from time to time to open up my airways, but then I realised that no amount of Vicks could compensate for me just being shit at football, if we’re being honest.
Vieira’s leadership, tenacity, and technical ability solidified him as one of the club’s greatest ever players, and he rightfully deserves a statue alongside some others. He also was captain during something called the ‘Invincibles’ season? Sounds cool, and considering other Invincibles have statues, it seems fair that the captain of that incredible side should get one too.
Faye White:
I was using this piece as an excuse to research the club's history and hark back to some of its greatest ever players. Most of these players were kicking balls before I was even born and so to roll back the years, watch their best clips, and read about their greatest achievements is something that tickles the history and football nerd within me. I was also going to list just three players, but I just had to talk about Faye White.
Faye White is likened to the Tony Adams of the women’s game; she was Arsenal captain for several years, a stalwart at the back and apart from a brief loan spell, she spent her entire career at the club.
She helped the club win THIRTY ONE major trophies including a quadruple, a few trebles, four doubles, and just the ELEVEN league titles. Whilst she was captain, the club went 108 league games undefeated from 2003 all the way to 2009. One of the most dominating periods of football across all eras, leagues, and genders. That's a legacy deserving of immortality, whether in bronze or copper or... well, you get it.
I really enjoyed writing this different style of article and I hope you enjoyed reading it too! A brief delve into the club’s history as I sit here being slow-cooked by the Sylhet sun. There probably won’t be another statue for a while after Wenger’s, but it was fun to have a look at some of the key figures and icons scattered throughout our club’s history.
I’ve been Jahid (@jahidfullstop) for WLYABlog! As always, thanks ever so much for reading, and I’ll catch you in the next one!
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