Arsenal: 30 Greatest Players Of All Time

By Ronnie Macdonald (Flickr: Dennis Bergkamp statue) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Ronnie Macdonald (Flickr: Dennis Bergkamp statue) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons /
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11. Ted Drake

With his career curtailed by WWII, Ted Drake only played for five years in an Arsenal shirt. However, during these five years he proved why he was the greatest striker during English football at that time. Drake didn’t do much on the field. He was not there to link up play, hold up the ball and win flick-ons. Drake was there for one reason and one reason only: To score goals. And he was bloody good at it.

Related: Arsenal’s Top 10 Champions League Moments

In his five years under Herbert Chapman, Drake was Arsenal’s top goal scorer in every season, including holding the single season goal record for the club as well as most goals in one game in the top flight of English football when he scored seven against Aston Villa. All in all, Drake scored 139 goals in 184 games, a truly unbelievable strike rate. He typified the English No. 9, his style of play praised for his speed, strength, and bravery.

Drake struggled with injury issues while at Arsenal, but his greatest moment came in his first full season after his transfer from Southampton. Drake scored a stupendous 42 league goals in 41 games, scoring 44 in all competitions including three hat-tricks and four games with four goals. His goals fired Arsenal to the league title that year, and Drake went on to win an FA Cup the next season and then the league title once again the year after.

With his career cut short by the war, Drake perhaps does not get the recognition he deserves. However, his goal scoring prowess is like none ever seen in an Arsenal shirt, and he will be remembered as one of the great Arsenal strikers.

Next: 10. David Seaman