Arsenal may finally sign a new striker this summer and we have picked out our top 10 of the best to have graced the Gunners’ line-up over the years
Arsenal have finished as runners-up in the Premier League for the last three seasons and appear close to landing their first title since the 2003-04 campaign, with the Gunners among the favourites in the football betting to win the 2025/26 Premier League.
However, there is one piece of the jigsaw that appears to be missing. Mikel Arteta’s men have been missing a top-level centre-forward for a while and the supporters are desperate for the Gunners to address that issue this summer.
With the club crying out for one of their forward stars of the past, we take a look at the best Arsenal strikers of all time, and make sure to explore our list of the greatest Arsenal managers ever.
Top 10 Arsenal strikers of all time
1. Thierry Henry
Arsenal’s record goalscorer with 228 strikes, but even that hefty haul doesn’t do Thierry Henry justice. The pace, skill, quality and variety of efforts was spellbinding and he was quite often unplayable when pulling on an Arsenal shirt.
Nurtured from a wide player into a striker by Arsene Wenger, the Frenchman won two league titles, three FA Cups, four Golden Boots and five Player of the Year awards with the Gunners and was handed the captaincy at Arsenal following Patrick Vieira’s departure in 2005.
From the flick and volley against Manchester United, rampaging through Tottenham’s defence to terrorising Real Madrid in the Champions League, Henry left defenders in his wake and was the king of his generation.
Not only Arsenal’s greatest, but the best striker to ever grace Highbury, the Emirates and the Premier League.
2. Dennis Bergkamp
Boring, Boring Arsenal were the chants sung around the country, but that all changed when Dennis Berkamp arrived at Highbury in 1995.
A scorer of truly magnificent goals, from the turn against Newcastle at St James’ Park, the superb hatrick at Leicester and the sublime lob against Leverkusen.
The Dutchman scored 120 times in his Arsenal career, but his vision, creativity, intelligence and benefit to his teammates were worth far more than just the goals.
3. Ian Wright
Ian Wright scored 185 goals for the Gunners and memorably broke Cliff Bastin’s long-standing Arsenal goalscoring record in 1997.
The forward encapsulated the spirit of the club and “Ian, Wright, Wright, Wright” was sung by an appreciative Arsenal crowd.
Wright was quick, explosive and a deadly finisher and the Londoner had the personality to match his talent.
4. Cliff Bastin
Cliff Bastin scored 178 goals in 395 games for Arsenal and the Exeter-born forward was the Gunners’ all-time top goalscorer from 1939 until 1997.
Bastin was certainly not an out-and-out striker and operated as an outside left in Herbert Chapman’s all-conquering side of the 1930s.
However, the goalscoring record of Bastin simply cannot be ignored.
5. John Radford
John Radford’s Arsenal career started when he joined the club as an apprentice in 1962 and spanned 481 appearances until his departure in 1976.
Only Thierry Henry, Ian Wright and Cliff Bastin hit more goals for the Gunners and the Yorkshireman ended his time in north London with 149 strikes.
6. Alan Smith
Alan Smith combined superb hold-up play, with a relentless workrate and touches of quality.
Smudger will always be remembered for his strike in the Cup Winners’ Cup final of 1994, which handed Arsenal a 1-0 win over Parma in Copenhagen.
7. Ted Drake
Ted Drake scored 139 goals in 184 appearances for Arsenal and there would have almost certainly been more had it not been for the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
A spell in the Royal Air Force brought an end to Drake’s career, but not before he left some milestones behind.
The Southampton-born forward hit an incredible 42 league goals in the title triumph of 1934-35, and in the following season, Drake bagged all seven goals in Arsenal’s 7-1 hammering of Aston Villa.
8. Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka was only at Arsenal for two years before making a big-money move to Real Madrid, but the Frenchman left a lasting impression.
Signed by Arsene Wenger, the 17-year-old arrived at Highbury as a replacement for the fading talents of Ian Wright and Anelka duly delivered.
The Frenchman helped fire the Gunners to their first league and FA Cup double in almost 30 years in his first full season at Highbury and he went on to score 28 times for the north London side.
There’s a feeling of what might have been with Anelka, given he left Arsenal so early in his career, but the frightening Frenchman certainly left plenty of memories.
9. Frank Stapleton
Frank Stapleton scored 108 goals in 300 appearances and many of those goals were laid on by the midfield magic of Liam Brady.
The Irishman was Arsenal’s top goalscorer for three consecutive seasons, starting in 1978 and he found the net in the Gunners’ 1979 FA Cup final success over Manchester United.
Stapleton was part of a formidable Arsenal strike partnership with Malcolm Macdonald and that duo combined for 46 goals during the 1976-77 season.
10. Robin van Persie
The Dutchman’s defection to title rivals Manchester United certainly doesn’t sit well with Arsenal’s fans, but Robin van Persie was a supremely gifted striker.
Blessed with a deadly left foot, Van Persie is eighth on the Gunners’ all-time top scorers list with 132 goals.
The Dutchman was the scorer of one of the Premier League’s greatest ever goals when firing in an incredible volley against Charlton at the Valley and there is a long list of superb strikes.
The Dutchman was hampered by injuries for much of his Arsenal’s career, but he developed into a lethal finisher for the Gunners, and then United.
