10 greatest Arsenal players of all time

#5 Patrick Vieira

FA Cup Final - Arsenal v Manchester United

'They've never truly replaced Patrick Vieira!'

Well, Arsenal never replaced Patrick Vieira for a simple reason - he was irreplaceable. His final kick in an Arsenal shirt won them the 2004/05 FA Cup. The Gunners would not win a trophy for another 9 years after his departure to Juventus.

The Frenchman came to Arsenal even before Arsene Wenger had officially arrived, and destroyed the notion of a foreigner struggling to adapt in his first appearance - completely dominating the midfield as a gangly 20 year old. Highbury knew immediately they had a special player.

The sight of the tall midfielder sliding in to win the ball with a biting tackle, then holding off another player, before flicking it over his head to gallop up the pitch and begin an Arsenal attack was the norm at the turn of the Millenium. Other teams couldn't cope and naturally, preyed on Vieira's fiery temper in a bid to get him sent off.

Paddy calmed down after he took over from Tony Adams, and was the driving force as Arsenal began to conquer everyone - it's fair to say that without his leadership and his presence in the middle of the park, the Gunner's famed unbeaten run of 49 games would simply not have been possible. 9 trophies for the club in 9 years - Vieira was a winner, and for the spell he was at Arsenal, so were they.

Irreplaceable.