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For decades, Arsenal have been the trailblazers in women's football both in England as well as across Europe. Since being founded in 1987, they have won 65 major honours, including 15 league titles and 15 FA Cups, both of which are a record.
In the last 12 months too, the Gunners claimed their second Champions League crown, beating Barcelona 1-0 at the Estádio José Alvalade, subsequently defeating Corinthians 3-2 in the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup Final on home turf, thereby crowned champions of the world.
For decades, anybody who was anybody played for Arsenal at some point, meaning literally countless world class players have represented the club. That is to say numerous absolute legends will not have made the cut, but here is our best attempt at building an all-time best XI.
GK: Emma Byrne: 2000-16
One of the easiest decisions to make when constructing this team was selecting Emma Byrne in goal. During her 16-year career in North London, the Irishwoman collected 29 major honours, including 11 league titles and ten FA Cups, which isn't a bad haul is it?
Her crowning moment came in 2007 as Arsenal were crowned European champions for the first time, starting both legs of the final victory over Umeå. As well as collecting 134 caps for the Republic of Ireland, a national record, her tally of 459 appearances for Arsenal remains a record to this day.
RB: Alex Scott MBE: 2005-09 & 2012-18
Another member of that 2007 UEFA Women's Cup winning team is Alex Scott, actually the scorer of the final's only goal, a stoppage time screamer at Gammliavallen. Despite this, the full-back certainly was not best known for her goal-scoring, more an always reliable defender. She racked up 313 appearances for her childhood club across two spells, spending two years at now dissolved WPS club Boston Breakers, before returning to North London in 2012.
Overall, Scott picked up 22 major honours, as well as accumulating 145 international caps, thereby inducted into the WSL Hall of Fame in 2024. After retiring, she was celebrated on the pitch at Emirates Stadium and, when her list of honours was read to the crowd, thousands sang "Tottenham Hotspur, she's won more than you", which is pretty accurate.
CB: Leah Williamson CBE: 2014-present
Bringing it to the more present day, and another defender who is Arsenal through and through. Leah Williamson is a bone fide one club player, having been on Arsenal's books since the age of nine, making over 230 appearances, including a club-record 161 in the WSL.
Williamson's recent career, both with club and country, has been trophy laden. She has captained England to back-to-back European Championship triumphs, starting all 12 matches across both tournaments, hosting the trophy aloft at both Wembley and St. Jakob-Park. Meantime, she was also a key figure as Arsenal upset the odds to defeat Barcelona in the Champions League Final in Lisbon, taking her tally to nine major honours with the Gunners, hoping many more are yet to come.
CB: Faye White MBE: 1996-13
Alongside, is a women who won just the 32 major honours during her 17-year Arsenal career, which is pretty impressive. Aside from a very short loan spell at Ottawa Fury, Faye White spent here entire career at Arsenal, a pivotal figure in Vic Akers' all-conquering team, especially during the 2000s.
In total, she racked up 227 appearances for the club, including featuring in the UEFA Cup Final, to go with her 90 England caps, part of the Lionesses' team that reached the 2009 Euros Final in Finland. Very few players from any era are more closely associated with Arsenal women's success as White.
LB: Katie McCabe: 2014-present
Left-back was a difficult position to choose but, in the end, one cannot look beyond Katie McCabe. She arrived from Shelbourne back in 2015, and has pretty much been a key figure ever since, racking up 271 appearances across all competitions. The 30 year old is something of a versatile utility player, having been deployed all over the pitch in her time, but left-back is her most natural role.
McCabe captained the Republic of Ireland to their first-ever major tournament, namely the 2023 World Cup, scoring directly from a corner in the pouring Perth rain against Canada, an iconic moment. Back at club level, she is good for the occasional screamer too, winning Arsenal's goal of the season in back-to-back campaigns, including a memorable rocket against Manchester City at Meadow Park in April 2023. She has seven major trophies to her name at Arsenal, starting the Champions League Final triumph, and remains one of the first names on Renée Slegers' team sheet.
CM: Kim Little MBE: 2008-13 & 2017-present
Into midfield and another player who has been an integral figure at Arsenal for a very long time and that is Kim Little. Against Oud-Heverlee Leuven at Den Dreef in the Champions League in February 2026, she made her 400th appearance for the club, only the third player to reach that milestone, after the aforementioned Emma Byrne and Ciara Grant.
The 35 year old first arrived in North London in 2008 and, despite short stints away at Seattle Reign twice and Melbourne City since then, she's remained at the club uninterrupted since 2022. The Scotland international captained Arsenal to Champions League glory in 2025 and, despite being towards the end of her career, remains a top-class operator.
CB: Jordan Nobbs: 2010-23
Alongside in midfield is a player Little will have played with numerous times Jordan Nobbs. After arriving from Sunderland in 2010, the England international spent 13 seasons in North London, racking up 213 appearances, winning 12 major trophies, including a trio of WSL titles.
Nobbs scored an impressive 67 goals from midfield, holding the WSL appearance record with 210, the vast majority of which came with Arsenal, currently plying her trade with Newcastle in the second-tier. Nobbs and Little would form quite the partnership in this fictional team, as they did in real life for an elongated, successful period of time.
RM: Beth Mead: 2017-present
Returning to present day squad members and, while there are dozens of high-class forwards who warrant a place in this team, Beth Mead is fully deserving of her spot. Since arriving from Sunderland in 2017, the winger has made 241 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 78 goals and picking up six major honours.
2022 was when Mead was the peak of her powers. That year, she was the top-scorer at the Euros as England picked up the trophy at Wembley, also Arsenal's player of the season, thereby finishing second in the Ballon d'Or Féminin ranking. Four years on, she is still a key member of Renée Slegers' squad, meaning Mead has to take her spot in this side.
LM: Rachel Yankey OBE: 1996-00 & 2005-16
Looking back further through the annals of Arsenal history and Rachel Yankey cannot be overlooked. After debuting for the Gunners as a 16 year old in 1996, she made 314 appearances across two spells, picking up eight league titles, nine FA Cups and the UEFA Cup in 2007, starting both legs of the final against Umeå having scored against Breiðablik in the quarters and Brøndby in the semis.
On top of this, Yankey accumulated 129 England caps, only six Lionesses have more, and was added to the WSL hall of fame in 2021. Overall, she is a proper Arsenal and women's football legend from a time when the sport was not as mainstream as it is now, so very much belongs in this XI.
ST: Kelly Smith: 1996-97, 05-09 & 12-17
Speaking of original Arsenal legends, one cannot look past Kelly Smith up front. She first joined Arsenal in 1996 and, across three stints in North London, made 156 appearances, scoring 125 goals, which is not a bad return. She spent time at various clubs stateside, but always returned back to Arsenal, collecting 14 major honours with the Gunners.
As well as this, her tally of 46 international goals was an England record, until this was broken by Ellen White in 2021. Current centre-forward Alessia Russo cites Smith as her all-time hero, and anyone who watched her play recognises that Smith was a generational talent who would thrive in any era.
ST: Vivianne Miedema: 2017-24
Lastly, what a front two this pair would form, Vivianne Miedema will always be an all-time Arsenal great. After arriving from Bayern Munich in 2017, the striker made 157 appearances for the club, scoring a ridiculous 113 goals across all competitions, winning a league title and three Conti Cups, including bagging the winner against Manchester City in the 2018 final.
This saw here pick up countless individual accolades and golden boots, still the WSL's all-time record goalscorer with 93, 80 of which came for the Gunners. In 2024, the Netherlands' all-time leading marksman was not offered a new contract, after a falling out with manager Jonas Eidevall, who himself departed soon after, with Miedema moving to rivals Manchester City. Nevertheless, she remains one of the best strikers in women's football history, and a bona fide Arsenal legend.