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So, why no statue? 722 appearances for Arsenal, a record that may never be beaten, the quickest to reach 100 appearances, 200 appearances and 400 appearances. He has 2 league titles, two FA Cups and 2 league cups. He turned down terms from Manchester United as a kid to sign for Arsenal because his dad was a Gunners fan. As a kid of 17, he made his debut and played a massive 30 times that season 1975/76 which is remarkable seeing as teams are very reluctant to play kids in central defence. Look what Arteta did with Saliba, for example. We could meet here in future Arsenal still employs him as a club ambassador and he will be 67 on May 2nd which means for a period of over 50 years he has mostly worked for Arsenal. He came through our academy very young alongside Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton. Yes, newbies, great players did come through our academy in the past. Time for a statue, yes? He played in probably our two greatest matches He played a central role in two of Arsenal’s greatest matches, the 1979 FA Cup final against Manchester United where we were cruising 2-0 until Utd got 2 late goals and we looked beaten until Liam Brady went at Man Utd, ghosting through them like they didn’t exist, slipped the ball to Graham Rix, who crossed it to Alan Sunderland to score the winner. 3-2 to the Arsenal and a game that is forever etched in the minds of fans. A young fresh-faced kid from the academy And of course, the famous battle of Anfield, where George Graham put O’Leary at the front of a 5 man defence as a sweeper to make sure we didn’t concede and make life impossible. Liverpool were the best team in the world at the time and nobody went there and beat them 2-0, but Graham had a plan to frustrate them and O’Leary was key to that plan. We got the two goals, the final in injury time, to deflate the KOP and Liverpool, leaving them collapsed on the ground, stunned and disbelieving. It’s a shame that so many of my ASCB colleagues were too young to experience those magic moments but at least lots of you got fairy-tale Wenger times to give you some idea of the excitement those two matches generated. A dedicated Arsenal fan David O’Leary was an Arsenal fan all his life, unlike his two famous Irish compatriots who were at Arsenal at the same time, Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady who supported Manchester United like many Irish kids at the time. Stapleton left for his boyhood team when Arsenal wouldn’t pay him a salary commensurate with his status as a top player and international. Liam Brady was offered an incredible sum by Juventus when he left but O’Leary stayed to become Arsenal’s top game player, leaving at the very end of his career for Leeds where he only managed 12 games. O'Leary snuffed out Mario Kempes in the 1980 European Cup-Winners Cup What was he like as a player? Pretty much undroppable as he got to partner many top centre halves such as Peter Simpson, Willie Young, and Tony Adams, who benefitted from O’Leary’s ability on the ball, his quick pace and quick brain to complement their more direct physical game. He kept the legendary Mario Kempes quiet in the 1980 European Cup Winners Cup final and of course scored the decisive penalty against Romania in the 1990 Italian World Cup to allow us to progress to the quarter finals. He could play for Mikel He was cultured, a ball playing centrehalf who would fit perfectly Mikel Arteta’s belief that players should be quick, aggressive, skilful, and capable of adopting different roles. Goals were not his forte as in 722 games he barely managed double figures. He kept a lot out, though. He always had a great keeper behind him as well, with Pat Jennings, John Lukic and David Seaman minding the net. Arsenal fans were unhappy when he celebrated a Leeds win over Arsenal to give the title to Man Utd So why does he not have a statue? Fans were very unhappy with him for celebrating a Leeds win at Elland Road in 1999, when as manager of Leeds they beat Arsenal 1-0 thus handing the title to Manchester United. In this he has parallels with Jack Charlton who famously beat England as manager of Ireland and the English FA never forgave him. I always thought that was harsh as a professional should always try their best for their sides and their job is a simple one, to win. Why you shouldn’t celebrate a win seems a little strange to me. Our most devoted player One day, I believe it will happen, though. He is, after all, our most loyal servant as a player. He won trophies, and still carries the flag for us as an ambassador. He has always been seen as a gentleman and I have never heard a former colleague speak a bad word about him. Jack Charlton never worried about celebrating a win For Ireland his record was tarnished by his relationship with Jack Charlton. Charlton disliked ball playing defenders, preferring players to boot the ball up the pitch for players to chase rather than fiddling about trying to find an accurate pass to a player. Charlton thought only as a defender and that was always his priority – defend. He rarely played O’Leary which meant he only got 69 caps when I am certain he could have been amongst our highest. Mick McCarthy, playing at a much lower level than O’Leary, was preferred as he would regularly boot the ball into the stands declaring the opposition won’t score from there. A clean player as well What we are left with is one of the most gifted central defenders Arsenal has ever had, the man who played the most times, won lots of trophies at a time when Liverpool were dominant, and never got sent off, in fact was rarely booked despite playing against many great centreforwards at national and international level. A true Arsenal great by any metric you can find for a central defender. Still an Arsenal man today I asked earlier is it time for a statue? Yes it is. And happy birthday, David O’Leary.

Liverpool to beat Arsenal at Anfield? That couldn’t happen Every small boy and maybe even girl knows that Liverpool have won 19 titles and Arsenal 13 and are two of the biggest teams ever in English football. Liverpool are now 8-13 to win the league and Arsenal 3-1 and are the top two in the betting so that could be the outcome. A Liverpool Arsenal one-two or vice versa. So, you would expect that with so many titles between them they would have had many dingdong battles between them for one and two but no, it is rare. In 32 winning seasons between them only 4 times has it been a tight battle for the top. Twice Arsenal have come out on top in 1988-89 and 2001/2002 and Liverpool twice in 1972/73 and 1990/91. Is the title race between these two? Will it happen again this year? It is very early to say. History says there is slightly better than a 10% chance of it happening and of course Liverpool may collapse like Tottenham last year and City could still stage a turnaround. For those of you with a betting mind City are a generous 9-1 and Chelsea are a staggering 18-1. Chelsea are absolutely level with us and have won far more trophies this century than us. Those four do look like the potential winners at this stage, though. The Chapman train was coming So, let’s look at the history. In 1901 Liverpool had their first title but Woolwich Arsenal were in the second division. The first time it was possible to fight for the top was in 1906 but the Wooly boys only finished 12th. Liverpool didn’t even notice them. They had two more in 1922 and 1923 but even though we changed our name, Arsenal were nowhere in 17th and 11th. Herbert Chapman made us great But the Chapman days were starting to come into view and in 1931 we had our first title. Liverpool were a distant 9th. We had arrived. Our dominance had started. They were the ones looking up at us in 1933 and 1934 in 14th and 18th. They did a bit better in 1935 in 7th. The Germans stopped us We were top again in 1938 and Liverpool didn’t trouble us in 11th. It meant that over three decades since their first win they had 4 titles whereas we had 5 in one decade. Arsenal the masters had arrived and most people believe that if it wasn’t for a funny-looking Austrian with a weird moustache we would have won many more. Wars? What are they good for, eh? Hitler started the war just to stop Arsenal Well, maybe for Liverpool because they won the first title after the war and Arsenal slid down to 13th place. Somehow Arsenal bounced back from that to win the next year and Liverpool fell right down to 11th. These were strange times as teams were putting themselves back together with so many of the former star players either dead, injured or old. The 50‘s were bleak Only Arsenal managed a win in the 50’s in 1953 and Liverpool were struggling in 17th. The next year Liverpool got relegated and didn’t get back up until 1962 under the legendary Bill Shankly. He put them straight and winning again with titles in 1964 and 1966. Poor Arsenal offered no resistance in 8th and 14th. Bill Shankly kickstarted Liverpool's great era In 1971 Arsenal managed the miracle double but Liverpool were always a formidable team under Shankly, however they only finished fourth. Liverpool were starting to rev up for their true domination of English football, though and in 1973 got the first title of that incredible period. That was to be Arsenal’s best season for many years after that as we came second, and that was the first time we had a battle for the top. The Liverpool rocket was fired and kept going into the stratosphere Liverpool went into turbo boost for the next 2 decades with wins in 1976, 1977. 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1988. Arsenal had 17th, 14th, 8th, 7th,4th, 5th, 10th, 6th and 6th. We were just looking on in bewilderment. We couldn’t lay a boot on them. But George Graham was scheming and planning on toppling the mighty Liverpool machine. And so we had our second one two but we came out on top in the battle of Anfield, 2-0 got us the title by the narrowest of margins in 1989 and the greatest day in English football’s televised history. Can it happen again? I will explore that later in the column. George Graham says bye bye Liverpool In 1990 Liverpool had their last win in the old first division and Arsenal came 4th. In 1991 we won again and Liverpool came second. George Graham had slain the Liverpool dragon for good this time. It took a very long time before they won again in 2020 under Jurgen Klopp with Arsenal languishing in 8th. We need to recreate the special match But the mighty Mr Wenger had come along to give us 3 wins in 1998, 2002, and 2004. Liverpool were 3rd, 2nd and 4th. That second place was the last such time when we were close at the top. In that period it was Man Utd who were our real opponents. Jurgen Klopp got Liverpool their only Premier League title I said earlier that our greatest match could be recreated. We are due to play Liverpool at Anfield on the 10th of May with two more matches to go. We should be playing Southampton and Liverpool playing Palace on the final day, and neither match looks very promising from a TV perspective. If it looks in early May that it could be a decider I say let’s switch. Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield to decide the league title. The whole world would watch it and if we needed to win by 2 goals again? Who would be our Alan Smith and Michael Thomas? Havertz and Declan Rice? Bring it on! The record Key - League position and points 1900-01 Liverpool 1 45 1905-06 Liverpool 1 51 Woolwich Arsenal 12 37 1921-22 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 17 37 1922-23 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 11 42 1930/31 Arsenal 1 66 Liverpool 9 42 1932/33 Arsenal 1 58 Liverpool 14 39 1933/34 Arsenal 1 59 Liverpool 18 38 1934/35 Arsenal 1 58 Liverpool 7 45 1937/38 Arsenal 1 52 Liverpool 11 41 1946-47 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 13 41 1947/48 Arsenal 1 59 Liverpool 11 42 1952/53 Arsenal 1 54 Liverpool 17 36 1963-64 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 8 45 1965-66 Liverpool 1 61 Arsenal 14 37 1970/71 Arsenal 1 65 Liverpool 5 51 1972-73 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 2 57 1975-76 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 17 36 1976-77 Liverpool 1 61 Arsenal 14 37 1978-79 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 8 43 1979-80 Liverpool 1 68 Arsenal 7 48 1981-82 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 4 52 1982-83 Liverpool 1 87 Arsenal 5 71 1983-84 Liverpool 1 82 Arsenal 10 58 1985-86 Liverpool 1 88 Arsenal 6 69 1987-88 Liverpool 1 90 Arsenal 6 66 1988-89 Arsenal 1 76 Liverpool 2 76 1989-90 Liverpool 1 79 Arsenal 4 62 1990/91 Arsenal 1 83 Liverpool 2 76 1997/98 Arsenal 1 78 Liverpool 3 65 2001/02 Arsenal 1 87 Liverpool 2 80 2003/04 Arsenal 1 90 Liverpool 4 60 2019-20 Liverpool 1 99 Arsenal 8 56

The Carabou Cup – what is it good for? Absolutely nothing? The top nine league cup winners Team Wins R/up Years Years R/up Liverpool 10 4 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2022, 2024 1978, 1987, 2005, 2016 Manchester City 8 1 1970, 1976, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 1974 Manchester United 6 4 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2023 1983, 1991, 1994, 2003 Chelsea 5 5 1965, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2015 1972, 2008, 2019, 2022, 2024 Aston Villa 5 4 1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, 1996 1963, 1971, 2010, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur 4 5 1971, 1973, 1999, 2008 1982, 2002, 2009, 2015, 2021 Nottingham Forest 4 2 1978, 1979, 1989, 1990 1980, 1992 Leicester City 3 2 1964, 1997, 2000 1965, 1999 Arsenal 2 6 1987, 1993 1968, 1969, 1988, 2007, 2011, 2018 All hail King George If it wasn’t for George Graham we wouldn’t even have the two miserable League Cups we have in 1987 and 1993. And if it wasn’t for the Heysel stadium tragedy which meant English clubs were barred from European competition maybe George would have had his priorities elsewhere. It might be just the one. Coca Cola Cup? Why not, George? Do you know we are ninth in the table of league cup winners? Tottenham are above us on four. And everyone knows what Tottenham are. They won it twice before us and twice after that. What does that make us? Shitter than shit? City win it as a warm up Pep, the standard to which Mikel is compared gets a win there most seasons. City have picked up six since 2014 and Pep has five since then. City have eight in total. They can win the league and league cup, why can’t we? Pep likes a League Cup Liverpool won it twice under Klopp so he cared about it. And Liverpool won it four times in their glory years in the 80’s. Chelsea won it three times under Abramovich so he also saw value in it. Ferguson won it four times in his glory years. Arsene could never win it and maybe Mikel will be the same. It is good to be beaten so we concentrate on the League and CL? I have shown that teams can win the league cup and the title even if not necessarily in the same year but in the same time frame. It is no barrier to success. Yet I have heard every year that we go out since Arsene’s time that it is best we were beaten so we can concentrate on the league or the Champions League. How come the other big teams don’t think the same? Alex Ferguson also liked the League Cup Because the league cup gives the squad games so they can come on and do a job if necessary and that has certainly been a weakness in the latter Wenger years and the recent Arteta ones. The squad gets beaten. Which means it is not good enough. Guardiola set his stall out for 2 strong teams right from the start and City had the financial nous to get it for him ( I wonder legally?) Pep brings on players and you wonder are they better than the guys he takes off. The squad players shine in the cups? We have not really been able to do that under Arteta. Eleven players get flogged unmercifully every week because he needs to win. But now? We have gone to a team in North London and won without Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, two of our very best. I feel we have two teams now although our second choice goalkeeper is now unproven without Ramsdale. Still a keeper’s job in a Carabou cup may not be too strenuous. Raya could stay to give them maturity. Jorginho, Zinchenko, Jesus, and others need full games badly. We could probably put out a second string that a midtable team would like to have. Martin Odegaard - we do need a back-up playmaker I still feel that we are vulnerable to injuries as we cannot really do without key players too long. If the squad players step up in the league and FA cups it will give us all far more confidence. I would love to see them destroying teams so that we say let’s play them instead. Where are we at this season? So what have we learned so far this season? I think one thing is that Martinelli should start as he wears out the full back and Trossard can come in and score whereas Trossard doesn’t leave the full back almost dead on his feet if he starts. He plays a different game but he can be bundled off the ball a bit too easily. Trossard sub for me but a starter in the cups. He has an eye for goal and the ability to do the unpredicted. A good player to have. Could Bolton be our first step towards a long-awaited Carabou Cup? Timber looks class. He seems the right mix of pure talent and competitiveness to be a winner. Calafiori also will improve the team. I feel he will get many chances although defenders don’t get subbed so often. Merino seems to be one that has improved with age. Partey has done well but he doesn’t seem to have the legs for 90 minutes. If Merino takes over I feel that will be a step up. Danger with Odegaard? Odegaard may be the problem unless, say, Nwaneri steps up. Smith Rowe could come in and do a job in the past but he is now performing great for Fulham so we hope Nwaneri could be the guy. Heaven and Skelly will surely get their chance against Bolton and we need them to shine. They must be on the bench for a reason. I would like to see Arteta have a definite team for the Carabou Cup and to go on and win it with them. Yes, play them in the final. All the top teams except Wenger’s have got plenty of titles alongside it. We need this boy to be a teenage sensation Go on, Mikel, show us what the youngsters and a few veterans are made of and win it for us. And follow it up with the title or the Champions League as well for good measure. We won’t complain.

Don’t despair And so now we are useless. Arteta out out out and we need a new team to replace the cloggers we have currently. Eh, no, teams always get beaten. Even when Alex Ferguson had little competition in the ‘90’s, he still had a few defeats every season. I am going to take a look at our previous title wins and see how we recovered from wobbles to win in the end. George Graham didn't despair The most dramatic finale to a season was Liverpool vs Arsenal in 1989. Does anyone know what our previous two scores were before we headed to Anfield? I wrote about it here and we drew with Wimbledon at home and beaten by Derby also at home. And by the way, we were beaten by Aston Villa at home that season. We had run out of steam and Liverpool were the unstoppable Red Monsters. Of course, nobody told George Graham and the players that and Arteta should give old George a shout as to what he did then because it could be very useful. He had an impossible task and the players achieved it for him. Iconic Chapman destroys them all Our first legend was Herbert Chapman and he smashed it out of the park on his first title in 1930/31 with 8 wins and 2 draws in our last ten and won comfortably. His next title was 1932/33 and he could afford a draw and a loss in his last two matches as he had already won the title. Next season was Chapman’s last as Joe Shaw, our captain, took over as manager in January. We won with 3 points to spare over Huddersfield, comfortable enough with 2 points for a win. The next season 1934/35 was George Allison’s first and he won with 4 points from Sunderland. We were the Arsenal then, the Red monsters who always won. George Allison didn't give in to despair Except we weren’t as we didn’t win again until 1937/38 where we had 3 draws and 2 losses in our last ten. Wolves obliged us by losing 1-0 to Sunderland to gift us the trophy as we thrashed Bolton 5-0 and won by one point. I guess the fans thought we had no hope that last day as Sunderland were mid-table, a bit like West Ham now. Preston were right in it at the end only 3 points behind us so that was a three-way finish until near the conclusion. You must stick with your team and support them as they need it. It definitely gives extra points. Don’t despair. Preston by goal average on the last day long before Liverpool And so the war struck and the league was over. We next won in 1947/48 by 7 points from Manchester United so, although we dropped many points at the end it didn’t matter. The next time was 1952/53 again under Tom Whitaker. We beat Preston and it was dramatic, almost the same as the Liverpool game as we won on goal average with both teams on 54 points. They lost to Bolton Wanderers 2-1 and we beat Burnley 3-2. Bolton were close to the bottom and Burnley were close to the top. And like against Liverpool, we had lost and drew our last 2 so our fans were in misery. Don’t despair. Tom Whittaker didn't give in to despair I covered the Liverpool match earlier for George Graham’s first in 1988/89 but his next was when he consigned Liverpool to history in 1990/91. He won by 9 points from them although 2 points were taken away because of the battle of Old Trafford when both teams got embroiled in throwing their handbags at each other. I was there for that one. No drama for George. Let’s hope if Arteta does manage to win this season he also gets an easy win for his second. Wenger was our ace in the hole And then the master, our ace, Arsene Charles Ernest Wenger took over and he recorded his first title in 1997/98, a nerve jangling win over Manchester United by one point as a win over Everton 4-0 in our 3rd last game was enough. No last game dramas though. Arsene: made Man Utd despair Then came 2001/02 and we again beat Manchester United but this time by seven points. Some of you will remember how exciting that season was as by the end of March we were 3rd and miserable. We then went on a string of wins for Wenger’s best ever finish to a season and won easily. Don’t despair when there are matches to go. Of course, Wenger’s final win was the one you know everything about. 2003/04 was the year we did something great but I cannot remember what it was. What was it again? Oh, yes, we were Invincible, we didn’t get beaten, and we won by eleven points. Chelsea were looking up at us this time but we didn’t head into a period of dominance as we all hoped. We are still waiting. C’mon the Spuds and West Ham So, we could be hoping two of our London rivals, the Spuds and West Ham do damage to City and Liverpool. Our margin for error is really tight. We possibly could get a draw or a loss and still win. Liverpool are away to Everton as well and derbies are unpredictable. They have those four matches one after the other which adds to their difficulty. C'mon the Spuds but not against us Don’t despair, people, as I have shown in 1938, 1953, and 1989, we have done it on the last game when all looked lost. We can do it again and I suspect we might have to, City and Liverpool will be battling to the end. I reckon if all 3 teams have a chance on the last day, at least one of them won’t win, despite them being favourites. Six games to go and I believe six wins will be enough. We can make it happen. We do have the best goal difference if that comes into play. Don’t despair, we are Arsenal. Update to the Table of Doom Table of Doom Fixtures Current Max Man City Spurs (a) 73 91 Arsenal Spurs (a) 71 89 Liverpool Spurs (h) Villa (a) 71 89 So, the inevitable has happened. The Blue Monsters have taken over. Strangely, the best chance we have of winning the league is to become Tottenham fans for two of these 3 matches. If we beat them and they beat Liverpool and City or even draw we are right back in it. We probably now do need to win our six matches but it is certainly not over. Liverpool may go out of Europe but that could give them a singular concentration. We have conceded 4 goals in our last two matches purely due to lack of concentration and focus. If we regain our laser focus we can win our last games. It is up to Arteta now. C'mon the Irons Of course, if my 86 points prediction is still correct there are a few more bumps for all teams to overcome. It may be three teams in it on the last day. In our favour is that West Ham is the toughest-looking match of the three, so City may have a wobble. If it is only us and City then beating Everton could be key.

Three managers to top them all George Graham -deserves a statue George Graham Player 308 apps Football League First Division: 1970–71 FA Cup: 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1969–70 Manager 9 years Football League First Division: 1988–89, 1990–91 FA Cup: 1992–93 Football League Cup: 1986–87, 1992–93 FA Charity Shield: 1991 (shared) Football League Centenary Trophy: 1988 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1993–94 Mikel Arteta Player 150 apps FA Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15 FA Community Shield: 2014, 2015 Manager 5 years FA Cup: 2019–20 FA Community Shield: 2020, 2023 Terry Neill Player 241 apps Manager 7 years FA cup 1979 Arsenal managers through and through In my lifetime we have had 3 Arsenal managers who played more than 100 games, won at least one trophy as manager, and who were fulltime managers of this great old club. Terry Neill, George Graham and Mikel Arteta. Now, all of you out there know who the current best one is – George Graham, who is ranked behind Herbert Chapman and Arsene Wenger. He took on the Liverpool machine and came out on top, who were the best ever English team at the time. He won 8 trophies at Arsenal as a manager, which puts him well ahead of the other 2. Arteta has won 3, an FA Cup and 2 Charity Shields, and Neill has just the one, the FA Cup in 1979. Of course, only Arteta has the chance to overtake Graham. I wonder how many Arsenal fans feel that he will? Am I really hearing Arteta out? The Arteta out brigade have already started with our current bad run, so if that is an indication getting George’s nine years will never happen. Even Terry’s seven won’t. I am, however, optimistic that Arteta is the right man at the moment. Of course, he now cannot afford the bad runs that he has had at the end of every season so far. We must finish strongly to collect trophies. I suspect that if he doesn’t get Champions league or a trophy it’s possible the Arteta out crew will get their wish. Certainly no European qualification could see him out for good. Terry Neill took us upwards Terry Neill never had that pressure. He took over in 1976 as the club were struggling. Relegation was somewhere on the horizon as the great double team were broken up and Bertie Mee lost his mojo. Neill took us up the table, got us 3 FA Cup finals in a row and a Cup Winners Cup Final appearance. His two best league efforts were 3rd and 5th. But competent rather than spectacular was the lot of Arsenal’s youngest ever manager. Bizarrely, Arsenal were his 3rd club despite being only 34 when he took over at Highbury. He had already managed Hull and a team from North London, I can’t remember their name. Terry Neill - a top class defender As a player, Neill didn’t win anything at Arsenal, and was gone just before the Mee/Howe axis started winning things. He did manage 241 games and was highly regarded as a top notch defender. He had 59 international appearances for Northern Ireland, way more than the other two. Arteta didn’t even manage one for Spain. He was our youngest ever, he had way more caps, and he had one of our greatest days under his belt, the 1979 FA Cup win over Manchester United, the famous Liam Brady final. Overall, one of our own, and he could be seen on matchdays escorting VIPs. He deserves more recognition And, of course, he also had a huge hand in creating the extraordinary amount of Irish at Highbury, cementing a massive fanbase across the pond. Ok, he is number 3 on this list of players/managers at Arsenal but for me, it was a colossal boost watching all the Irish superstars strut their stuff. Terry Neill - a fan till the end Will he get a statue? Probably not but he remained Arsenal through and through all his life and was one of our most dedicated followers, always being seen around the Arsenal on matchdays. The rookie could beat them all Mikel is number 2 and he has a long way to go to catch up with George Graham. Will he? Maybe not but I feel he will get somewhere before he has to leave. The only one on the list who was a rookie, and he did make rookie mistakes, allowing Aubameyang and Ozil a latitude that he shouldn’t, have, but he learned, and if he has learned how to finish strongly this season, then we might be celebrating. He needs to stay in touch, as at the end City may have lots of high pressure matches like last season. Arsenal capitulating made that easier for them last time, and they won the league easier than they should have. That, above all else is his benchmark, stay in touch and finish strongly. Mikel -Our captain, my captain He won the FA Cup and the Charity Shield at his first attempt, a wonderful achievement. His immediate predecessors were 2 greats, Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger, and he has done better than any Manchester United manager since Alex Ferguson in fashioning a team in his image, consistently getting better. When an immense manager goes, such as Arsene Wenger, the void becomes a giant chasm to fill. Arteta has the capacity to fill that void. Will he get a statue? Time will tell. Graham conquered all And so George Graham, the mighty tactician, disciplinarian and creator of a team that moved together like puppets, always catching teams offside, with a magical midfield of Rocastle, Merson and Thomas to feed the strikers. He gave us probably our best day ever, when we went to Anfield in 1989 needing to win 2-0 for the title, and won in injury time. It never got better after that. George Graham - an elegant player The critical thing about George is that he made Arsenal great again over many years. The last such time was the 1940’s. His nine years with our only 2 League Cups, the only European Cup Winners Cup, and the only ever winners of the Centenary Cup, plus 2 league titles and an FA Cup means he is number one on this list and number 3 overall in the pantheon of prodigious Arsenal managers. He didn’t get many caps for Scotland but won trophies as a player and was a vital member of the Double winning side of 1971. Tactics, discipline and teamwork He was responsible for bringing many top young players through at Arsenal and Leeds. He had one defining belief, that you get the best possible player for every position even if it means removing a fan favourite as he did with John Lukic, replacing him with David Seaman. Football was chess for him, you had to stay ahead of your opponent by thinking ahead of them. Can any of them get a statue like the legendary Herbert Chapman? Will he get a statue? He deserves one. The scandal that removed him certainly seemed to have a lot of extenuating circumstances, and an honest review of that could see him getting the recognition at Arsenal he deserves. And so there you go. We had 3 top players that became top managers, something that not many teams have achieved. Liverpool had 2, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish, but I cannot think of any other top team that had trophy winning managers who also played for them. Good old Arsenal, we always lead the way. And if Arteta knocks out George Graham, boy would we be happy.