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Our King of Kings? How would you like to have a winger playing right now, let’s say his name is Bukayo Saka or even Noni Madueke and he becomes Arsenal’s top scorer and 4 of his colleagues burst into our top ten ever goalscorers because of all the assists he gave them? You’d love it, yes? Well, back when we were England’s greatest team in the 1930’s we had such a player and his name was Cliff Bastin. And I think there is a strong argument that he was our greatest ever player. Most fans have Thierry as the greatest Of course, Thierry Henry is regarded as our greatest. He scored 228 across all competitions. Ian Wright was next on 189 and Bastin trailing that on 178. And you look at the record and it says that Henry was with Arsenal for 8 seasons if you don’t count his late loan cameo in 2012, and 377 appearances. Ian Wright was only 7 seasons with us and 288 appearances. Bastin was with us from 1929 to 1947. He had 396 appearances. The record is clear, then. Bastin is our 3rd best scorer. This is just Gus trying to stir up controversy – or is it? He wasn’t even a striker There are all sorts of metrics that argue for Cliff Bastin and do not worry I will get to them. I am guessing that Bastin to most of us is a great name from the past but we know little about him. There is a lot to know. Jimmy Brain 139 goals First of all, he was a winger, sometimes an inside forward, and a right half, not a striker. The winger's job in those days was clear, get the ball across to the big man in the centre, Jimmy Brain, Ted Drake, Joe Hulme and David Jack who are all in the top ten of Arsenal’s top scorers. So he was there when 4 of Arsenal’s greats were also there. Henry only had Van Persie (8th) on the pitch with him rarely and Wright had none of the top ten with him. I think you have got to give the man credit to score so many from the wing with also having to supply four of our greats. Injuries and a strange little Austrian Ah, but he was with us from 1929 to 1947, 18 seasons, plenty of time to score goals? Uh, uh, wrong answer. Some Austrian messed up the world at that time. 1938 was his last real season and he was only 27. That final season was blighted by a leg injury which effectively finished his career. He only played 7 times after the war and of course, probably only got his game on his reputation and the death of so many stars during the war. So, it is fair to say that he would have got much more goals if he had been able to play after 27. Henry got 75 goals for us after 27 and Ian Wright got all his 189 over the age of 27. Are we starting to see that Mr Bastin was a bit useful? David Jack 124 goals He only needed 11 more to catch Wrighty and 40 more to catch Henry. 250 surely was not unreasonable and he would have been well out in front. And did I mention he wasn’t a striker? The Boy Wonder Another feat of his was being, at 19, a league winner, an FA cup winner and a full England cap and he is still the youngest to do that, although some of our academy guys might just pass him out. Of course, poor Ian had no chance of such an achievement not even being a professional until much later and drifting in a bad environment until finally getting his chance at Palace in his twenties. Henry didn’t come to Arsenal until his twenties either although he got a league title at Monaco and a full French cap in 1997 at 19. Wrighty could argue he was the greatest All three were penalty takers but unfortunately I couldn’t find out how many the Boy Bastin scored from the spot, however, penalties were a bit more rare in those days (no diving) and Wright on 26 and Henry on 24 suggest we could give him similar as all three had a fairly similar amount of years to garner spotkicks. So none had any great advantage from the white circle. He must have been the assist king We can probably suggest that his assists could well have been higher than the other two as that was his job and the boys around him are among Arsenal’s top scorers. In fairness both Henry and Wright had lots of assists but surely logic dictates that Bastin was higher? 4 players got into our top ten as opposed to none that could be attributed to Wright or Henry. Joe Hulme 125 goals One other point is top flight goals. Bastin had 150 and that was the record until Henry overtook him in 2006. So Bastin is still second on that metric. He was mightily impressive, you have to admit. Yes, Ian Wright could argue that he got his figures from far less games at 288 games and 189 goals giving 65.63%. Henry had 228 goals from 377 games giving 60.5%. Bastin had the least goals from the most games at 178 from 396 giving 44.94%. That leaves Mr Wright Wright Wright the clear winner. And I am sure he would have his champions out there among you as your favourite player. He will always have a great spot in my heart. Different eras but his greatness shone out In truth, the bare figures don’t give a true comparison as it was different eras, different opponents, different roles and different training but still I think we can take one thing for pretty much certain, that injury at a heartbreaking 27 stopped Cliff Bastin being our top scorer to this day and maybe forever. I remember interviewing Alan Smith last year and he spoke about how devastating it was to have to walk away at only 32 and you could see the hurt in his face as he recounted the darkest time of his football career. I would have loved to interview Cliff Bastin and to talk about how different his life would have been without the injury, and Mr Hitler if the injury had cleared up plus the combination of circumstances which conspired to make him just another of Arsenal’s great players and not the greatest. Ted Drake 139 goals So, all hail Cliff Bastin, a true candidate for our greatest ever goalscorer and assister. Up to 1991 you could have gone into his pub in Exeter and reminisced about the old days. And hey, let’s get that statue up at the Emirates to praise a man who only circumstances deprived us of being our king of kings. And yes, we would all love such a player today.

A Teenage Arsenal With Myles Lewis Skelly becoming a sensation on his England debut, I decided to take a look at Arsenal players who were teenage debutants for England and this is what I came up with courtesy of http://englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrs/PlyrsYoung.html I also decided to pick my best 11 from all the players in the above list but with my usual criteria. Cliff Bastin - his scoring record stood a long time Players I considered Cliff Bastin Walcott Wiltshire Chambers Chamberlain Skelly Saka Sterling Jack Butland Duncan Edwards Jude Bellingham Wayne Rooney M Owen John Barnes Micah Richards Luke Shaw Rio Ferdinand Jimmy Greaves Ray Wilkins J Woodgate Wes Brown Team I selected Jack Butland Chambers, Skelly, Ferdinand, Wes Brown Chamberlain, Wiltshire, Bellingham Saka, Bastin, Walcott Theo Walcott - still the youngest player ever to play for England Cliff Bastin 21 caps 12 goals Theo Walcott 47 caps 8 goals Jack Wiltshire 34 caps 2 goals Calum Chambers 3 caps 0 goals Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 35 caps 7 goals Myles Lewis Skelly 2 caps 1 goal Bukayo Saka 43 caps 12 goals How I made my selection Raheem Sterling also made it but I don’t feel he should be on the list as he didn’t play for Arsenal and England at the same time so far and maybe never will. With seven players I couldn’t make a team but I have decided to automatically include Arsenal players and pick the best of the rest. I also stuck to players from my own era although I included the legendary Cliff Bastin as Arsenal players were automatic. I filled the team out with Jack Butland in goal. Goalkeepers rarely get a teenage chance nor do defenders so pickings were harder there. I went for Chambers and Skelly as full backs and Rio Ferdinand as the only true top class defender from the rest. I chose Wes Brown to partner him but with 23 England caps he can hardly be called a legend. Should I have included Raheem Sterling? Attack and midfield had plenty of options but after deciding that Duncan Edwards, being before my time, couldn’t be included I left him out despite a lot of pundits reckoning him to be the greatest ever. I decided on a 4 3 3 and put Chamberlain, Wiltshire and Jude Bellingham in there. Ray Wilkins was also a serious contender but Bellingham really looks class. A very strong front three Upfront I put Saka, Bastin and Walcott, with Wayne Rooney, Jimmy Greaves, John Barnes and Michael Owen strong contenders. It is a strong side and as a few of these are still playing it could get even better. Nwaneri could easily come in there soon as well. Saka - Our best teenager ever? The fact that there are only 69 teenagers to play for England shows how unusual it is to get such a chance. Players have rarely come through the academy to the first team at that age so they won’t be picked. It does happen at small countries as academy players at top teams are considered better options than players who have never got out of the lower divisions. Many Irish players have this distinction with Robbie Keane among the most prominent. Jack Butland was the only goalkeeper I noticed on the list I feel only Bukayo Saka of the above is a contender for playing in the greatest English team of all time although Skelly and Nwaneri may make that category over time. Walcott, surprisingly, has the most caps although surely Saka will overtake him. Saka does have the most goals along with Cliff Bastin although Bastin achieved his in only 21 games. He must have been some player. Many players don’t make it For those of you who are younger among my readers, I can assure you of one thing, Walcott, Wiltshire, Chambers and Oxlade-Chamberlain were players who we were pretty certain, in the early days of their careers, would go on to true greatness. Injuries were the bane of their lives and they never quite managed to hit the heights their talent would surely have taken them. I have read that Saka’s injury is among that category in that it can be difficult to fully recover from. He is a player I want to see back to his best and, for me, if they waited until they were sure, I would not object. Yes, he would be a great boost for our small hope in the Premier League and against Real Madrid and the rest in the Champions League but I would prefer to take no chances. We need him to be at his best. I have waited all my life for Champions League success and this year may be one of our best chances but still I would view Saka’s career as more important. Ethan Nwaneri - could he be our next teenager to play for England? Arsenal, with seven teenage players, are among the top teams to have had many players with such a distinction. Max Dorman is already touted as being the next big thing and let’s hope that happens. Judging by the past, a goalkeeper and defenders are the most rare so it might take some time until we can fit the rest of the team but we are getting there, and I guess maybe Sterling has a right to be included. He is an Arsenal player who played for England at 17. I wasn’t sure if it was fair to include him. Our superstar teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly prompted this discussion and having seen him live a few times now I can say I just love watching him play. And I really love how the big superstar names around him like Partey, Jorginho, Odegaard, Rice, etc., have no problem giving him the ball knowing that he can do great things with it. Nwaneri the same. They know giving these players the ball is the right thing to do, they are fearless, they are strong, and superb footballers. They could be the mainstays of the team for many years. We need to nurture them, support them, allow them to grow and make mistakes, and we could have the new Xavi and Iniesta for example. Both have an eye for goal as well and it is difficult to be sure what their final positions could be. Both must be worth a fortune so we must keep them. And also to encourage the new kids coming along. Myles Lewis-Skelly - ready to become a great? Excelsior to the teenagers and c’mon the Arsenal.