**Throughout our history, we have a proud record of providing players to national teams around the world, with some of our biggest stars regularly representing their countries with pride.**
But which Gunners have won the most caps for their nations during their time in north London? Here are the top 10 from our men's team:
10\. OLIVIER GIROUD
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**France | 2012-2017**
**60 caps, 28 goals**
The striker had already broken into the Les Bleus side before making the switch to us from Montpellier after Euro 2012. He would play and score at the 2014 World Cup before firing in three goals during his side’s run to the Euro 2016 final on home soil, but ultimately defeated by Portugal.
After departing north London, he would go on to win the 2018 World Cup, finish runner-up four years later, win the 2021 Nations League, become France’s oldest international and break their goalscoring record until being surpassed by Kylian Mbappe. 28 of his 57 strikes came as a Gunner, representing the third-highest total of international goals netted by an Arsenal player.
9\. FREDDIE LJUNGBERG
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**Sweden | 1998-2007**
**62 caps 12 goals**
The vast majority of Ljungberg’s 75 Swedish appearances came while he was plying his trade in north London, with one particular game against England in 1998 prompting Arsene Wenger to sanction his signing.
He would represent his nation at four major finals as an Arsenal player, including the 2006 World Cup where he scored an 89th-minute winner to beat Paraguay and help Sweden into the knockout stages. He was national team captain by the time he left us to join West Ham United, retiring from international football after Euro 2008.
8\. TONY ADAMS
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**England | 1987-2000**
**66 caps | 5 goals**
As a one-club man, all of Adams’ caps came as a Gunner. Despite winning his first in 1987, he would have to wait until Euro 96 for his first taste of an international tournament, when he famously captained England to the semi-finals.
15 of his appearances were as skipper, while he also appeared at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. His final international game was at the old Wembley’s swansong - a ground he made the most appearances at (60), and scored England’s final goal at in a friendly against Saudi Arabia in May 2000.
\=5. DAVID O'LEARY
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**Republic of Ireland | 1976-1993**
**68 caps, 1 goal**
Like Adams, O’Leary only played international football during his time in north London, where he made a record 722 appearances. Having debuted for the Republic of Ireland as a teenager, it would take him 13 years to score his only international goal against Turkey in October 1990.
That was a few months after his biggest moment in the emerald green, when he did find the net with the decisive penalty in a shootout success against Romania at the 1990 World Cup, sending Ireland into the quarter-finals - his only international tournament appearance.
\=5. ROBIN VAN PERSIE
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**Netherlands | 2005-2012**
**68 caps, 29 goals**
Dutch icon Marco van Basten took an early shine to RVP and handed him his first cap aged 21 when he was still finding his feet at Highbury. Van Persie went to the 2006 World Cup and smashed in a free-kick against the Ivory Coast, and would also represent his country at Euro 2008 and 2012.
In 2010 he helped his nation reach the World Cup final, but they were beaten by Spain as their wait for a world title continues. He later became the Oranje’s highest scorer, with 29 of his 50 goals coming whilst in N5, which makes him our second-highest international goalscorer. Memphis Depay overtook his record in 2025.
\=5. GRANIT XHAKA
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**Switzerland | 2016-2023**
**68 caps, 7 goals**
Switzerland’s all-time record cap holder had already played 47 times for the Swiss and appeared in two major finals before arriving at Emirates Stadium as a 23-year-old. He went to his second World Cup in 2018 when he scored a rocket of a goal against Serbia, and by Euro 2020 he was captain.
After helping his nation to the quarter-finals of that tournament, he played every minute of their four matches at the 2022 World Cup having already racked up a century of caps, and since departing us, Xhaka has continued to be a mainstay of the national team, guiding them to the 2026 finals in North America.
4\. DAVID SEAMAN
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**England | 1991-2002**
**72 caps, 0 goals**
Seaman shares a Three Lions record with Rio Ferdinand by appearing in at least one game for them across 15 consecutive years, the majority of which were after his arrival from Leeds United in 1991. After sharing the goalkeeping duties with a host of other shot-stoppers, he seized his chance at Euro 96 and was the undisputed number one for the next six years.
As well as iconic moments against Scotland and Spain that summer, which led to him being named in the Team of the Tournament, he also featured at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, plus Euro 2000. He captained England just once, in a World Cup qualifier against Moldova in 1997 aged 33.
3\. KENNY SANSOM
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**England | 1980-1988**
**77 caps, 1 goal**
Sansom was already England’s left-back before making the switch from south to north London after moving from Crystal Palace, and he would nail down the position throughout the majority of the 1980s, including 37 consecutive appearances - a run bettered by only two other players in history.
Sansom represented the Three Lions at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, playing in the infamous Hand of God game against Argentina in the quarter-finals, while he was still first-choice for Euro 88 when he made his final international appearance. His only goal came in a World Cup qualifier against Finland in 1984.
2\. PATRICK VIEIRA
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**France | 1997-2005**
**79 caps, 4 goals**
The vast majority of the legendary French central midfielder’s 107 caps came during his time with us, including his first against the Netherlands in 1997. He came off the bench to set up clubmate Emmanuel Petit’s goal in the 1998 World Cup final, which was one of two appearances at the tournament.
By Euro 2000 he was a mainstay as he added a European Championship to his resume, and scored the winner in the final of the Confederations Cup a year later. He would also play at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 before leaving Highbury, and missed out on a second world title despite starting the 2006 final defeat to Italy on penalties.
1\. THIERRY HENRY
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**France | 2000-2007**
**81 caps, 36 goals**
Henry was already a World Cup winner before he pitched up in north London, ready to rewrite our record books. Our all-time top goalscorer is also our record international cap winner, while no-one has matched his haul of 36 goals for their national team while an Arsenal player.
Henry ended his first season with us by lifting Euro 2000 when he scored three goals, and in 2003 he was the top scorer and netted a golden goal in the final to clinch the Confederations Cup. He featured in two World Cups as a Gunner, notably in 2006 when he again scored three times but finished as a runner-up, and held the title as Les Bleu’s all-time scorer before being overhauled by Giroud. Only Lillian Thuram has played for France more than Henry’s 123 games.
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