Recognised as one of the greatest and most successful clubs in the history of British and European football, Arsenal has, over the years, welcomed many great players from the four corners of the globe into its ranks. However, since the inception of the Premier League, the Gunners have only managed to claim three league titles (1998, 2002 and 2004).

The north Londoners have had a rich history of success in the competition since 1992, and this article now takes the opportunity to compile a list of the ten best players in Arsenal's Premier League history.

Ranking factors

To select them, we decided to use a number of criteria, including:

• Performances, records and trophies won
• Legacy
• How fans view them

10 Cesc Fabregas

At Arsenal from 2004 to 2011

Cesc Fabregas arrived at Arsenal at the tender age of 16 after coming through the ranks at Barcelona, and quickly established himself as one of the Gunners' key players in 2004, following the Invincibles' legendary campaign.

In seven seasons in North London, the brilliant Spanish midfielder, a world champion with La Roja in 2010, took part in 212 Premier League games, scoring 35 goals and providing 76 assists. After returning to Barça in 2011, he had to wait until he moved to Chelsea to finally add an English league title (or rather two, in 2015 and 2017) to his list of honours.

9 Freddie Ljungberg

At Arsenal from 1998 to 2007

When he arrived at Arsenal in 1998, Fredrik 'Freddie' Ljungberg had no experience at the highest level of European football. Having joined Arsenal from his parent club Halmstad, the Swede experienced many highs and lows during his time with the Gunners.

A versatile attacking midfielder with unrivalled lethal qualities and uncommon bursts of speed, the player with 75 caps for the Blagult (14 goals) unfortunately suffered a number of physical setbacks during his career. However, these problems did not prevent him from playing nearly 220 Premier League games (216 to be precise) with Arsenal and being decisive on 77 occasions (46 goals, 31 assists).

8 Sol Campbell

At Arsenal from 2001 to 2006, 2010

It takes a lot of courage to leave Tottenham to join Arsenal - and vice versa. In 2001, however, that was the fate Sol Campbell chose to embrace, even though he was coming off a solid season with Spurs. The defensive rock was inevitably under scrutiny from Gunners fans, and he quickly lived up to expectations, displaying all his intelligence, power and technical ability to lead his side to numerous trophies, including two English Championship titles (2002, 2004).

On the 17th of May 2006, in his last match of his first spell for the London powerhouse, Campbell scored the opening goal in a Champions League final that his side eventually lost 1-2 to Barcelona. It was a bitter farewell, but one that will go down in history forever.

7 David Seaman

At Arsenal from 1990 to 2003

When David Seaman left Queens Park Rangers for Arsenal in 1990, the Premier League didn't yet exist. But as if to indicate to his new managers that he embodied the glorious future of the Gunners, the England goalkeeper led his side to the First Division title in his first season, displaying his incredible performance with 24 clean sheets in 38 games.

It was the start of what was to become the rest of his North London career. After the switch to the Premier League format, the 6ft3in shot-stopper won two more championships (1998, 2002) and played a total of 325 games in the competition, conceding just 266 goals and keeping his goal intact on 140 occasions. During his 13 years at Arsenal, the England international made 541 appearances for the Gunners.

6 Robert Pires

At Arsenal from 2000 to 2006

Robert Pires arrived at Arsenal in 2000, having freshly won the European Championship with the French national team. His London adventure lasted six years, during which time he played a key role in the Invincibles' legendary 2004 season, scoring 14 goals and providing nine assists in 38 games.

The left-footed midfielder made a total of 189 appearances in the Premier League, a competition in which he was decisive 105 times (63 goals, 42 assists) and which he won in 2002 and 2004. Fast, with above-average vision and an eye for goal, Pires even managed to make Gunners fans forget Mark Overmars.

5 Patrick Vieira

At Arsenal from 1996 to 2005

Back in August 1996, Patrick Vieira arrived in London from AC Milan relatively anonymously. But the French midfielder soon showed why Arsene Wenger, the new Arsenal manager, had decided to call on his services.

Standing at 6ft3in, the former AS Cannes player quickly made his mark in the Premier League, combining physical strength with technical smoothness and showing himself to be as rugged as he was hard-working. Becoming captain in 2002, Vieira turned into the boss that everyone had already seen in him. In 279 Premier League games, he scored 28 goals and provided 30 assists, as well as picking up 75 yellow cards.

4 Ian Wright

At Arsenal from 1991 to 1998

Certainly one of the best players in Arsenal's history. Recruited from Crystal Palace in 1991, Ian Wright quickly became a renowned centre-forward. Small in stature (5ft7in), he crushed the early years of the Premier League with his talent, surpassing the 15-goal mark in the league between the 1992/93 and 1996/97 seasons.

An English champion with the Gunners in 1998, Wright made 213 Premier League appearances, 191 of them for Arsenal, scoring 104 times and providing 14 gifts for his team-mates. Although he was overtaken by Thierry Henry, Wright was once the top scorer in the history of the North London club.

3 Tony Adams

At Arsenal from 1983 to 2002

Few players in modern football have worn the colours of just one club, and Tony Adams is one of them. Thrown into the deep end of the professional world at the age of 17, three years after joining Hale End in 1980, the robust English defender has experienced it all with Arsenal.

Captain of the Gunners in the First Division (which he won in 1989 and 1991), the man nicknamed 'Mr Arsenal' also led his side to two league titles - in 1998 and 2002 - in the newly renamed Premier League. An iconic figure at the club for almost two decades, Adams is one of six to have been honoured with a statue on the forecourt of the Emirates Stadium.

2 Dennis Bergkamp

At Arsenal from 1995 to 2006

It may be hard to believe that in 1995, Dennis Bergkamp's first steps with Arsenal were rather difficult. But a brace against Southampton on the 23rd of September of that year marked the Dutchman's unofficial debut at Highbury. After that, the striker never ceased to dazzle England - and the world more generally - with his talent.

With the Gunners, the 'Non-flying Dutchman' (in reference to his phobia of aeroplanes and all air transport) played 315 Premier League games, scoring 87 goals, including his legendary strike against Newcastle on the 2nd of March 2002, and providing 88 assists. In his nine years in the English capital, he added three league titles to his list of honours.

1 Thierry Henry

At Arsenal from 1999 to 2007, 2012

Measuring the impact that Thierry Henry has had at Arsenal is, in the final analysis, fairly straightforward: his election - by the fans, in 2008 - as the club's 'Best Ever Player' speaks for itself. In eight seasons - and one month between January and February 2012 - the French striker left his mark on his time in North London.

None of his rivals will have forgotten him, and in 258 Premier League games played between 1999 and 2007, the 1998 FIFA World Cup winner was decisive on 255 occasions (175 goals, 80 assists), winning two league titles (2002, 2004), four Premier League 'Golden Boot' awards and two PFA Player of the Year awards. Of the 11 players to have found the back of the net at least 150 times in the league, he has the highest ratio of goals scored per minute (one goal every 122 minutes). Like Tony Adams, with whom he rubbed shoulders on his arrival in England, Henry has been honoured with his own statue around the Gunners' stadium.