Arsenal's 10 best CBs ever

[Football Manager]

1. Campbell
2. Toure
3. Koscielny
4. Mertesacker
5. Keown
6. Adams
7. Gallas
8. Vermealen
9. Luiz
10. Sokratis

...only considering players from my time as a fan, I know we have had better centre backs than some on this list, but this are the top 10 I have seen.

Also, Adams would have been number 1 and Keown number 3 if I saw both at their peak in the 90s...but since I didn’t, I am putting the others above them who in my time were better, even though they weren’t better defenders.

Great list but please get Gallas f**k out of this list.

 

[TornadoTed]

In the time I've been watching Arsenal

1 - Campbell
2 - Adams
3 - Toure
4 - O'Leary
5 - Bould
6 - Keown
7 - Mertesacker
8 - Koscielney
9 - Gallas
10 - Luiz

Strange list, some outstanding defenders at the top, really scraping the barrel by the bottom!

 

[krackpot]

Ba$tard thread, to be brutally frank.


We dont' got no defenders ****.

 

[Shalmaneser V]

1) Stepanovs
2) Cygan
3) Mustafi
4) Senderos
5) Squillaci
6) Djourou
7) Gabriel Paulista
8) Silvestre
9) Grimandi
10) Luiz

 

[Football Manager]

Gallas makes Mourinho' best ever 11 (albeit at full back), yet he isn't rated in Arsenal-Mania. He was class here but surround by muppets like Clichy, Eboue and Vermaelen.

He was world class.

I could be very wrong in this, but I can't remember Toure starting much in that horrific end to the 2007/08 season.

But no, I was not referring to Toure as incompetent as he was a fantastic servant for us and a good player. I rated Gallas more highly however.

Gallas was not bad as a centre back in Chelsea (not great either). He didn't look bad because of chelsea’s defensive approach, and strict tactical discipline.

Then he was truly great on the left back when Bridge was injured, with Terry and Carvalho playing in the centre. But he didn't like to play at the left back. That's why he decided to leave.

At Arsenal he was just rubbish. He had no tactical discipline because wenger gave a lot of freedom to his players, and tactical discipline was Gallas’ weakness.

Gallas started to think: “If I am the captain, I have to score at the important times when we need the goal.” So he always ran up the pitch to the strikers position. Not even that, he often stayed up, not coming back, trying to get that important captain goal.

I remember we have lost so many times because of him running up the pitch, leaving huge gaps in the defence, not caring about his defensive partners or our defensive shape.

Some of you remembered him as a player scoring some important goal for us. Yes, that true. But what is the purpose to score one but to concede three because of him?

But you may ask why some people here didn’t blame him for those goals we conceded? It’s because he was not even in the defence. He was up there with the strikers leaving his partner Toure at the back to clear his mess against 2-3 attackers. Who would look bad? Of course it’s Toure because he had to deal with 2-3 attackers on his own.

 

[truth_hurts]

Gallas was not bad as a centre back in Chelsea (not great either). He didn't look bad because of chelsea’s defensive approach, and strict tactical discipline.

Then he was truly great on the left back when Bridge was injured, with Terry and Carvalho playing in the centre. But he didn't like to play at the left back. That's why he decided to leave.

At Arsenal he was just rubbish. He had no tactical discipline because wenger gave a lot of freedom to his players, and tactical discipline was Gallas’ weakness.

Gallas started to think: “If I am the captain, I have to score at the important times when we need the goal.” So he always ran up the pitch to the strikers position. Not even that, he often stayed up, not coming back, trying to get that important captain goal.

I remember we have lost so many times because of him running up the pitch, leaving huge gaps in the defence, not caring about his defensive partners or our defensive shape.

Some of you remembered him as a player scoring some important goal for us. Yes, that true. But what is the purpose to score one but to concede three because of him?

But you may ask why some people here didn’t blame him for those goals we conceded? It’s because he was not even in the defence. He was up there with the strikers leaving his partner Toure at the back to clear his mess against 2-3 attackers. Who would look bad? Of course it’s Toure because he had to deal with 2-3 attackers on his own.

This was when we were chasing games though from memory! Although ideally you do not want your cb in the opposition box except for attacking our corners, it's hard to criticise a defender trying to win a game.

My memories of Gallas aren't of an ill disciplined cb whilst here. I'd reserve that for Vermaelen.

 

[MikelHadADream]

From when I started watching Arsenal:

Campbell
Toure
Per
Koscielny
Gallas

There really aren't any others that are worth mentioning.