10 greatest Arsenal players of all time

#4 Cliff Bastin

Cliff Bastin

For 8 years with Arsenal, Cliff Bastin did not score a single goal. The reason? World War II. Had it not been for the outbreak of the war halting the football league, Bastin would surely have plundered 300 goals for Arsenal, a record Thierry Henry and Ian Wright would never have broken.

As it was, from 1929 to 1939, Cliff Bastin scored 178 goals for Arsenal. What makes it even more incredible was that Bastin was not a pure centre-forward. Operating on the 'inside left' of Herbert Chapman's famed W-M formation, Bastin was one of the first ever wingers in football to cut inside and shoot, as opposed to the norm of sending in a cross for the centre-forward.

Bastin had Alex James, the playmaker of Arsenal to thank for much of his goals, although he had to operate as a provider once Ted Drake arrived. He adapted without protest, and the goals continued, albeit at a lesser rate.

The Englishman signed for Arsenal as a 17-year-old, and by 19, already had won the League title, the FA Cup and was capped for England, the youngest player to have ever done so.

He ended his career with 5 league titles and 2 FA Cups, but instead will always be remembered for his goal-scoring feats.