Arsenal's 10 Best Left-Backs of All Time
- Think Football Ideas
- Dec 9, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 8
Arsenal's 10 Greatest Left-Backs of All Time
There is something quietly heroic about a left-back. They are rarely the loudest name on the teamsheet. Rarely the shirt children beg their parents to buy.
Yet, season after season, they run that lonely corridor between defence and adventure, chasing wingers, launching attacks, stitching balance into chaos.
Arsenal, a club built on identity and style, has trusted that flank to men of steel, elegance, and occasionally, rebellion. Some defended like guards at a royal gate. Others attacked with the abandon of converted wingers. All of them, in their own way, shaped the rhythm of the club.
So let’s walk that touchline together, from Highbury’s echoing roar to the polished stage of the Emirates, and remember the finest to ever patrol Arsenal’s left.
Here Are Arsenal's 10 Best Left-Backs of All Time
1. Ashley Cole (1999-2006)
Before Ashley Cole, overlapping runs felt like a tactical choice. When Cole arrived, they became an inevitability. He was forged in Hale End but sharpened on the biggest stages, a defender with the recovery speed of a sprinter and the nerve of a veteran.
Wingers learned quickly that getting Cole was one problem, and staying past him was another entirely. And then there was that Arsenal side. The Invincibles. Untouchable. Unbeaten. Immortal.
Cole did not merely exist within that team, he powered it. Two league titles, two FA Cups, and performances that placed him firmly among the world’s elite.
His departure would later sting, some wounds never fully close, but time has a way of sanding down the raw edges of football memory. What remains is simple - at his peak, Ashley Cole was not just Arsenal’s left-back. He was the standard.
2. Kenny Sansom (1980-1988)
Some players demand attention. Kenny Sansom never needed to. He played the position with a kind of quiet sophistication, tidy in possession, thoughtful in movement, and blessed with a left foot that could deliver a cross onto a sixpence.
Eight consecutive PFA Team of the Year selections tell their own story. So do 86 England caps. But numbers never quite capture Sansom.
To watch him was to understand economy, no wasted steps, no theatrical tackles, just control. Reliable players are often forgotten in favour of the spectacular, but Arsenal supporters never made that mistake.
3. Eddie Hapgood (1927-1944)
Long before modern tactics and floodlit spectacles, there was Eddie Hapgood, standing tall in an Arsenal side that would come to define the 1930s.
He led with posture and presence, a captain for both club and country when football still carried the air of ceremony. Five league titles. Two FA Cups and nearly 400 appearances.
Yet Hapgood’s influence stretched beyond medals. He represented authority at a time when Arsenal were becoming English football’s great power.
War would steal years from his career, as it did from so many, but it could not erase his imprint.
4. Nigel Winterburn (1987-2000)
If Arsenal under George Graham were a fortress, Nigel Winterburn was one of its thickest stones. There was nothing flamboyant about him, and that was precisely the point.
Winterburn tackled cleanly, positioned himself impeccably, and treated defensive duty not as a burden but as a craft. Opponents seldom found joy down his flank. Many stopped trying altogether.
Three league titles later, along with domestic and European silverware, Winterburn left at 36, having given the club something priceless, and that was dependability in an era that demanded it. Managers adore artists. Players like Winterburn help managers build dynasties.
5. Viv Anderson (1984-1987)
Viv Anderson carried more than defensive responsibility when he played. He carried significance. Already a trailblazer in English football, he arrived in North London with authority and composure, as he blended athleticism with sharp tactical instinct.
He could step inside, join midfield patterns, or lock down his flank with equal comfort. Leadership seemed to follow him naturally. Though his stay was brief, it was far from quiet.
The 1987 League Cup triumph remains threaded with his influence. Some players stay for decades. Others, like Anderson, only need a few seasons to be remembered. After leaving Arsenal, he continued his successful career, becoming Sir Alex Ferguson's first signing at Manchester United.
6. Bob McNab (1966-1975)
Today, attacking full-backs are everywhere. In Bob McNab’s day, they were a revelation. Signed for £50,000, a figure that now feels charmingly antique, he surged forward with purpose, stretching play and supplying crosses that unsettled defences.
The 1970/71 double-sided shimmered with quality, and McNab was one of its driving lanes. After making over 350 appearances, his legacy feels secure not because he reinvented the role, but because he subtly guided it toward the future.
7. George Armstrong (1961-1977)
They called him “Geordie,” and Arsenal called him their own for nearly two decades. Armstrong’s journey from winger to left-back spoke volumes about his intelligence. Not every attacker embraces the discipline of defence, but he did, and then some.
621 appearances tell a story of endurance. Of trust. Of unwavering usefulness even when the club drifted through leaner years. At just five-foot-six, he was never the most imposing figure. But as we know, courage has never been measured in inches.
8. Silvinho (1999-2001)
For a brief moment, Arsenal’s left side danced. Silvinho arrived with Brazilian imagination stitched into his boots. He had quick feet, adventurous dribbles, and the confidence to try the unexpected.
He pushed Nigel Winterburn. Then displaced him. Fans remember the goals, the bursts forward, the sense that something electric might happen whenever he accelerated into space.
Ashley Cole’s emergence shortened his stay, but not his impression. Some players are chapters. Silvinho was a spark. He would later feature for Barcelona and Manchester City before transitioning to coaching.
9. Mel Charles (1959-1962)
Mel Charles was not a textbook left-back, and perhaps that is what made him so intriguing. Aerially dominant and fearless in the tackle, he offered Arsenal a defensive presence that attackers found deeply uncomfortable.
There was pedigree too, as he was a Welsh international, brother to the great John Charles, and a footballer shaped by a rugged era. His time in North London was not long, but it was forceful. And sometimes force is exactly what a defence requires.
The Gunners secured Mel's services for £42,750 in 1959, and he scored 26 goals in 60 First Division games before a £28,500 transfer to Cardiff City in 1962. Post-Arsenal, Charles continued his football journey with Portmadoc, Port Vale, and Haverfordwest.
10. Gael Clichy (2003-2011): The Energetic Dynamo
Gael Clichy was a dynamic left-back who made a lasting impact on Arsenal with his energetic style and defensive skills. Close your eyes and picture Clichy, and you see motion. Relentless, tireless motion.
The Frenchman flew down the flank with a runner’s stride, recovering ground in seconds and turning defence into attack before opponents could reset.
There were highs, a Champions League final, title challenges, and the quiet honour of being the last Invincible to depart in 2011. Eight years is a long time in modern football. Long enough to become part of the club’s fabric.
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