# The 16 Greatest Arsenal Academy Graduates of All Time

> Captains who never left and teenagers only getting started share one list here. Every choice weighs a trophy-laden career against a breakthrough that is still unfolding.

*By YPB Team · Published October 28, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-16-greatest-arsenal-academy-graduates-of-all-time*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Tony Adams** — score 1000/1000
   Hale End product who captained Arsenal for 14 years and lifted four league titles across three decades.
2. **Bukayo Saka** — score 914/1000
   Hale End winger who became Arsenal's talisman and an England regular before turning 21.
3. **Pat Rice** — score 768/1000
   Youth-team right-back who captained the 1979 FA Cup winners and played in the 1971 Double side.
4. **Ray Parlour** — score 621/1000
   Academy midfielder nicknamed the Romford Pelé who won three league titles and scored in the 2002 FA Cup final.
5. **Kieran Gibbs** — score 621/1000
   Hale End left-back who made over 200 appearances and won three FA Cups.
6. **Jack Wilshere** — score 548/1000
   Hale End midfielder who broke into the first team at 16 and won two FA Cups.
7. **Emile Smith Rowe** — score 464/1000
   Hale End playmaker who wore the number 10 and scored ten league goals in 2021-22.
8. **Ethan Nwaneri** — score 464/1000
   Hale End forward who became the Premier League's youngest ever player at 15 and scored freely as a teenager.
9. **Liam Brady** — score 464/1000
   Irish playmaker raised in Arsenal's youth ranks whose left foot drove the 1979 FA Cup win.
10. **Ashley Cole** — score 464/1000
   Academy left-back who won two league titles at Arsenal, including the unbeaten 2003-04 season.
11. **Michael Thomas** — score 365/1000
   Academy midfielder who scored the last-minute title winner at Anfield in 1989.
12. **Frank Stapleton** — score 365/1000
   Academy striker who scored over 100 goals for Arsenal and netted in the 1979 FA Cup final.
13. **Martin Keown** — score 365/1000
   Youth-team defender who returned to win three league titles, including the unbeaten season.
14. **Myles Lewis-Skelly** — score 365/1000
   Hale End full-back who broke into the first team and the England side as a teenager in 2025.
15. **David O'Leary** — score 249/1000
   Youth-team centre-back who holds Arsenal's all-time appearance record with 722 games.
16. **Paul Merson** — score 249/1000
   Youth-team forward who won two league titles with Arsenal in 1989 and 1991.

Tags: football, players, premier league, arsenal