Arsenal's style of play has varied throughout the decades, but in modern times, their mantra has been clearer than ever - a quick passing, ball retention, possession-clad style of play that has wowed fans across the world.
Goals such as Jack Wilshere's team goal vs Norwich City, Olivier Giroud's scorpion kick against Crystal Palace and Dennis Bergkamp's famous control-and-shot against Leicester City are what spring to mind. The beautiful game, in its essence.
But there are a number of stars who have failed to nail down their time at Arsenal, despite being extremely 'Arsenal-coded' - and in line with the new trend, GIVEMESPORT takes a look at 10 players who somehow never donned the red shirt despite feeling like quintessential Arsenal players.
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The Gunners have had some world-class players turn out for them over the years.
Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure
Arsenal's mantra under Arsene Wenger was one riddled with flair, panache and 'va-va-voom' - though physicality also played a huge part further up the pitch, especially in Patrick Vieira.
The France international is regarded as one of the finest midfielders the Premier League has ever seen, noted for his dominant nature, passing range and ability to impact in the final third - and so when the Gunners bought Abou Diaby from Auxerre in 2006, the second coming of Vieira was already in their ranks.
However, injury woes persisted, and by 2010, Diaby wasn't on the pitch long enough to make an impact. That should have seen Yaya Toure join the Gunners - and Wenger being ousted by Manchester City to his signing in 2010 is arguably a major mistake he made.
City hadn't yet qualified for the Champions League, and so the Gunners could have signed Vieira's long-term replacement in the Ivorian - a missed trick, as he scored 62 Premier League goals in just 230 games, winning three top-flight titles and two domestic cups before leaving for Olympiacos eight years later.
Jackson Martinez
Jackson Martinez
Arsenal had some superb strikers down the years, namely Thierry Henry and Berkamp in the 'Invincibles' era - before Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie took over from them in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
But there was a lull period in the mid-2010s, with the club needing a striker with pace in between Van Persie's departure to Manchester United, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's arrival - where Martinez should have been signed.
The then-Porto star was linked with a move to London almost every window after frightening form in Portugal, and Wenger - who always liked powerful, quick, clinical strikers - missed the boat in not signing him.
67 league goals in 90 games for Porto was enough to tempt Atletico Madrid's interest, but a failed spell there behind Antoine Griezmann saw his career stall. How different it could have been for Martinez remains to be seen, but given he fit right into Wenger's plans, he could have become an Arsenal hero in his prime.
David Silva
David Silva in action for Manchester City
Back to the 'panache' and 'flair-ridden' era of Arsenal, the Gunners had so many playmakers who were adept at playing one-touch football.
Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Alexander Hleb - the list goes on. And just how David Silva didn't play for the Gunners from the late 2000s onwards remains a mystery.
David Silva's career statistics - record by competition
Competition
Premier League
La Liga
UEFA Champions League
FA Cup
Europa League
League Cup
Arguably the most Arsenal-coded player on this list, the diminutive Spanish wizard enjoyed a decade-long period of success at Manchester City, winning four Premier League titles, seven domestic cups and three places in the Premier League Team of the Year, for his deft nature, assist-heavy campaigns and composure on the ball.
Silva being on the ball alongside Fabregas and behind Van Persie would have been ideal for Wenger and his pass-first style of football - but again, City ousting them to his signing is a telling tale for those years that followed under Pep Guardiola.
Joe Hart
Joe Hart
There's a theme forming here - any player who was at Manchester City just before they started their glory era could conceivably make the list, and the Gunners' preference to sign young English talent should have seen them sign Joe Hart.
Following Jens Lehmann's departure in 2008, the club went through a period in which they entrusted backup goalkeepers to man the sticks - Manuel Almunia, who only started consistently for Arsenal from 2007 onwards, followed by Polish duo Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny, who were clad with errors in their early Emirates days - and a replacement was likely needed.
Hart, who had started to really pick up his form at City in that time, would have been ideal for the Gunners to try to return to their former glories, and though it remains to be seen how easy a deal would have been to prise him from City, signing young talent to play in goal would have certainly appeased to Wenger and the fanbase.
Hart went on to make 266 Premier League appearances for City, including a further 74 for other teams on loan and permanent spells - and he is noted as being one of the Premier League's most successful English goalkeepers.
Kylian Mbappe
real madrid mbappe
Evidently a hard deal to complete given where Arsenal were at the start of Kylian Mbappe's career, in arguably their worst run of form as a club in 30 years - but the forward is extremely Arsenal-coded.
French talent has always shone at Arsenal. Henry, Vieira, Robert Pires, Emmanuel Petit, Giroud, Laurent Koscielny - the list goes on. And with Mbappe being noted as Henry's second coming, he would have been ideal to come in and replicate the Highbury legend's exploits in north London.
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Of course, Mbappe has gone on to achieve big things at both Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid so far. 256 goals in 308 games for the Ligue 1 giants, as well as 44 goals in his first season for Real, means that he is one of the most coveted stars in world football at present.
But his speed, excellence and finishing ability on the left-wing would certainly remind old Arsenal fans of a certain Frenchman who became the greatest player in the club's history.
Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder
Having another flair, panache-style player in their ranks would never have been a bad idea under Wenger - and for a brief period of time, Wesley Sneijder was one of the best in the world.
Lighting up EURO 2008 for the Netherlands, his form on the continental stage coincided with Arsenal being knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United in the semi-finals just a month earlier - and having beaten Chelsea in the final as well as the duo being the top two in England, it was clear that world-class signings would have bridged that gap, with Arsenal only finishing four points behind top spot and two points off second.
Capable of game-winning moments, as well as being a Dutch magician like Bergkamp before him, Sneijder suffered a lack of game time the following season at Real Madrid and would have easily angled for a move to Arsenal, before he joined Inter Milan and won the treble the season after.
But had he signed for the Gunners, they'd have had him in the prime of his career and that could have easily tipped them to becoming the best English team in the game for at least a season.
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Barcelona
Again, Arsenal have almost always had quick, clinical goalscorers - and Eto'o not playing in a Gunners shirt is certainly a fever dream.
He played alongside Henry in his late Barcelona days, where he scored 130 goals for the club in just 199 appearances - and a move to Inter saw him win the treble alongside Sneijder.
The Cameroonian later played for Chelsea and Everton, showing a keenness on playing in the Premier League - and alongside Van Persie, Fabregas and Nasri, he could easily have slotted in to fire Wenger's men to the top of the table if he wished to join instead of a move to Italy.
With some of the most prolific strikers in the league's history playing for Arsenal, it's a shame that Eto'o never did at the peak of his powers.
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso
Fabregas was notably their Spanish playmaker, and we've already spoken about David Silva.
But enough about Arsenal's options going forward - Alonso was also an extremely Arsenal-coded player for his ability, calmness and passing range on the ball.
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Whilst Alex Song was a solid alternative to play in the deeper-lying role for the Gunners, Alonso would have been extremely well tailored to Wenger's tactics with his ability, technique and tactical awareness.
Had he been in their midfield as opposed to Liverpool's, some of the draws and losses that the team suffered may not have been the case and titles could have been more frequent in the capital.
George Weah
George Weah lifts the Ballon d'Or
Wenger's influx of foreign players in Weah's Ballon d'Or-winning era saw Arsenal go from a European-chasing outfit to title winners under the Frenchman, and Weah being the best player in the world just before the French tactician joined meant that he could have been Wenger's first big-money move for the AC Milan star.
The Liberian national team already had one player at Highbury at the time in Christopher Wreh, who made 28 appearances for the club over a three-year spell - but Weah's quality would have massively improved Arsenal at the time, even though they still had Ian Wright and Nicolas Anelka, shortly bringing in Davor Suker as well as Henry.
In the changing of the guard of English football when Arsenal first won the league, Weah would have been the ideal recruitment, and it's a mystery as to the fact he never played in north London.
Guti
Guti
We'll end with a quintessential playmaker, known for little else during his career except creating goals and doing so in the most exceptional of manners - though Guti was much more than that.
Often an overlooked member of the Real Madrid 'Galacticos' side, Guti was 'Mesut Ozil before Mesut Ozil came about' - an ideal fit for Wenger's Arsenal.
An outrageous assist catalogue over a 15-year period for Real Madrid saw him rack up 542 appearances for Los Blancos, hitting the peak of his perils in the early 21st century - but with the addition of stars such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, David Beckham and more, his game time and starts slowly swindled.
At that moment in time, with Kaka being linked, he'd have been ideal for the Gunners. With their stock higher than ever before, having made the Champions League final, he would have been ideal for Wenger's side to dominate in England following their move to the Emirates Stadium.
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 10-07-25.
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