Arsenal Player of the Season

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Arsenal Player of the Season
2021 - Centre Stage HM3 3974 (51649018266).jpg
Thierry Henry has won the award four times, the most of any player
Sport Association football
Awarded forbeing the best performing Arsenal player over the course of a season
Presented by Arsenal F.C.
History
First award1967;58 years ago (1967)
Editions59 (as of 2025)
First winner Flag of Scotland.svg Frank McLintock
Most wins Flag of France.svg Thierry Henry (4 times)
Most recent Flag of England.svg Declan Rice
(2024–25)

The Arsenal Player of the Season award is an official award given by Arsenal Football Club to the best performing player from the club over the course of the season. The award is given based on votes by Arsenal fans on the club's website, [1] [2] it was previously based on votes by the Arsenal Supporters' Trust. [3]

Contents

The inaugural award was handed to Frank McLintock in 1967 and it has been presented every season since. [3] The 2015–16 and 2016–17 awards were officially called the Vitality Arsenal Player of the Season Award for sponsorship purposes. [4] [5] The award has been given to 42 different players over the course of 58 seasons, with 12 players being awarded on more than one occasion. Of these players, only Thierry Henry has won the award four times, and he is also the only player to have won the award in three consecutive years. In 1976, Republic of Ireland international Liam Brady became the first Arsenal player from outside the United Kingdom to win the award and in 1997, Dutch international Dennis Bergkamp became the first player from outside the British Isles to receive it. [3] Following the 2014−15 season, Chilean international Alexis Sánchez was voted to become the first player from outside of Europe to win the award. [3] [6]

Declan Rice is the most recent winner of the award, following the 2024–25 Arsenal season.

Award recipients

Frank McLintock won the inaugural award in 1967. Frank McLintock (1970).png
Frank McLintock won the inaugural award in 1967.
George Armstrong won the award in 1970. Geordie Armstrong Fa Cup.jpg
George Armstrong won the award in 1970.
Alan Smith won the 1989 award, being the league's top scorer. Alan Smith 2014.jpg
Alan Smith won the 1989 award, being the league's top scorer.
Jens Lehmann won the award in 2006. Jens Lehmann.jpg
Jens Lehmann won the award in 2006.
Cesc Fabregas won the award in 2007 and 2010. Fabregas 4.jpg
Cesc Fàbregas won the award in 2007 and 2010.
Robin van Persie won the award in 2009 and 2012. Robin Van Persie August 2007.jpg
Robin van Persie won the award in 2009 and 2012.
Aaron Ramsey won the award in 2014 and 2018. ARS-OM 1314 Ramsey free kick (cropped).jpg
Aaron Ramsey won the award in 2014 and 2018.

Players in bold are still playing for Arsenal [8] [9]

Award recipients
SeasonPlayerNationalityPosition
1966–67 Frank McLintock Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Defender
1967–68 John Radford Flag of England.svg England Forward
1968–69 Peter Simpson Flag of England.svg England Defender
1969–70 George Armstrong Flag of England.svg England Forward
1970−71 Bob Wilson Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Goalkeeper
1971–72 Pat Rice Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland Defender
1972–73 John Radford (2)Flag of England.svg England Forward
1973–74 Alan Ball Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
1974–75 Jimmy Rimmer Flag of England.svg England Goalkeeper
1975–76 Liam Brady Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland Midfielder
1976–77 Frank Stapleton Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland Forward
1977–78 Liam Brady (2)Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland Midfielder
1978–79 Liam Brady (3)Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland Midfielder
1979–80 Frank Stapleton (2)Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland Forward
1980–81 Kenny Sansom Flag of England.svg England Defender
1981–82 John Hollins Flag of England.svg England Defender
1982–83 Tony Woodcock Flag of England.svg England Forward
1983–84 Charlie Nicholas Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland Forward
1984–85 Stewart Robson Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
1985–86 David Rocastle Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
1986–87 Tony Adams Flag of England.svg England Defender
1987–88 Michael Thomas Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
1988–89 Alan Smith Flag of England.svg England Forward
1989–90 Tony Adams (2)Flag of England.svg England Defender
1990–91 Steve Bould Flag of England.svg England Defender
1991–92 Ian Wright Flag of England.svg England Forward
1992–93 Ian Wright (2)Flag of England.svg England Forward
1993–94 Tony Adams (3)Flag of England.svg England Defender
1994–95 David Seaman Flag of England.svg England Goalkeeper
1995–96 Martin Keown Flag of England.svg England Defender
1996–97 Dennis Bergkamp Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Forward
1997–98 Ray Parlour Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
1998–99 Nigel Winterburn Flag of England.svg England Defender
1999–2000 Thierry Henry Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Forward
2000–01 Patrick Vieira Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Midfielder
2001–02 Robert Pires Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Forward
2002–03 Thierry Henry (2)Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Forward
2003–04 Thierry Henry (3)Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Forward
2004–05 Thierry Henry (4)Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Forward
2005–06 Jens Lehmann Flag of Germany.svg Germany Goalkeeper
2006–07 Cesc Fàbregas Flag of Spain.svg Spain Midfielder
2007–08 Mathieu Flamini Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Midfielder
2008–09 Robin van Persie Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Forward
2009–10 Cesc Fàbregas (2)Flag of Spain.svg Spain Midfielder
2010–11 Jack Wilshere Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
2011–12 Robin van Persie (2)Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Forward
2012–13 Santi Cazorla Flag of Spain.svg Spain Midfielder
2013–14 Aaron Ramsey Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Midfielder
2014–15 Alexis Sánchez Flag of Chile.svg Chile Forward
2015–16 Mesut Özil Flag of Germany.svg Germany Midfielder
2016–17 Alexis Sánchez (2)Flag of Chile.svg Chile Forward
2017–18 Aaron Ramsey (2)Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales Midfielder
2018–19 Alexandre Lacazette Flag of France (lighter variant).svg France Forward
2019–20 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Flag of Gabon.svg Gabon Forward
2020–21 Bukayo Saka Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
2021–22 Bukayo Saka (2)Flag of England.svg England Midfielder
2022–23 Martin Ødegaard Flag of Norway.svg Norway Midfielder
2023–24 Martin Ødegaard (2)Flag of Norway.svg Norway Midfielder
2024–25 Declan Rice Flag of England.svg England Midfielder

Multiple wins

Players with multiple wins
RankWinnerTotal winsYears won
1Flag of France.svg  Thierry Henry  (FRA)42000, 2003, 2004, 2005
2Flag of Ireland.svg  Liam Brady  (IRL)31976, 1978, 1979
Flag of England.svg  Tony Adams  (ENG)1987, 1990, 1994
3Flag of England.svg  John Radford  (ENG)21968, 1973
Flag of Ireland.svg  Frank Stapleton  (IRL)1977, 1980
Flag of England.svg  Ian Wright  (ENG)1992, 1993
Flag of Spain.svg  Cesc Fàbregas  (ESP)2007, 2010
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Robin van Persie  (NED)2009, 2012
Flag of Chile.svg  Alexis Sánchez  (CHI)2015, 2017
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Aaron Ramsey  (WAL)2014, 2018
Flag of England.svg  Bukayo Saka  (ENG)2021, 2022
Flag of Norway.svg  Martin Ødegaard  (NOR)2023, 2024

Wins by nationality

Wins by nationality
NationalityWins
Flag of England.svg England27
Flag of France.svg France8
Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland5
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands3
Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland3
Flag of Spain.svg Spain3
Flag of Chile.svg Chile2
Flag of Germany.svg Germany2
Flag of Norway.svg Norway2
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales2
Flag of Gabon.svg Gabon1
Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland1

Wins by playing position

Wins by playing position
PositionWins
Goalkeeper 4
Defender 11
Midfielder 21
Forward 22

See also

References

  1. "Lacazette wins Arsenal Player of the Year award". Goal. 4 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  2. "Bukayo Saka named Arsenal player of the season". BBC Sport. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Maidment, Jem (2006). The Official Arsenal Encyclopedia. London: Hamlyn. p. 148. ISBN   9780600615491.
  4. "Vitality Player of Season – the winner." Arsenal F.C. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  5. "Vitality Player of the Season". Arsenal F.C. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  6. James, Josh (31 May 2022). "'I played for the club of my dreams'". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  7. Miller, Nick (9 February 2017). "Golden Goal: Alan Smith for Arsenal v Liverpool (1989)". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  8. "Icons that have won our Men's Player of the Season". Arsenal F.C. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  9. Rogers, Jonathon (6 June 2024). "Rice wins men's Player of the Season for 2024/25". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 6 June 2024.

Further reading