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The best player of all time for each Premier League team

By Thomas Wheaton

LONDON - NOVEMBER 13: Thierry Henry celebrates a goal during the Barclays Premiership match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at White Hart Lane on November 13, 2004 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
LONDON - NOVEMBER 13: Thierry Henry celebrates a goal during the Barclays Premiership match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at White Hart Lane on November 13, 2004 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /
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The summer is a long, boring period for us soccer fans. Thankfully, it gives us an opportunity to reflect, not only on last season and the current transfer rumors, but on the past as well.

As we wait (not so) patiently for the new season to begin, we decided to compile a list of the greatest player of all time for every Premier League team. What makes a player the greatest at his club? He needs to be more than just talented and successful; he needs to be iconic, inextricable from the identity of the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the most talented player to have ever played for Manchester United, but in terms of overall influence and legacy, he pales in comparison to the likes of Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs.

This list includes the 20 teams that will complete in the 2017-18 Premier League season, which means Brighton Huddersfield and Newcastle are in and Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hull are out.

LONDON – NOVEMBER 13: Thierry Henry celebrates a goal during the Barclays Premiership match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at White Hart Lane on November 13, 2004 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
LONDON – NOVEMBER 13: Thierry Henry celebrates a goal during the Barclays Premiership match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at White Hart Lane on November 13, 2004 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /

Arsenal: Thierry Henry

There are some who believe Thierry Henry’s longtime striker parter, Dennis Bergkamp, was the better player, but few could argue Henry didn’t play a greater role in shaping Arsenal into the club they are today.

The French striker was an insatiable goalscoring machine, scoring a record 228 times in all competitions for the Gunners, including 175 in the Premier League, the fifth most of all time. Henry also scored 35 goals in the Champions League, the most in Arsenal history.

Henry was the key player for the Gunners as Arsene Wenger set about transforming the club’s reputation as a boring, defensive side. Wenger started that process before Henry’s arrival, and even won a league title in 1997-98, but the club took another huge leap forward when Henry came to north London in 1999.

Henry was the best player in the Invincibles team of 2003-04 that won the league without a losing a match. That was his second league title to go along with three FA Cups. Henry also led Arsenal to the Champions League final in 2006, scoring five goals along the way, and almost helping the Gunners past a heavily-favored Barcelona team in the final.

The Frenchman spent eight seasons with Arsenal and accumulated 258 appearances during that time, good enough for third all-time. He left for Barcelona in 2007, where he would finally win the Champions League that had eluded him with the Gunners, but he had already cemented his legacy as an Arsenal great, and even returned on loan in 2012, playing four games and scoring a goal.

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