It looks like we’re sticking with the centre backs with week as we go through Arsenal’s best number 5’s. The main picks this week, like many others, have gone down in club history, which this week starts in the 1960’s.
Signing for Arsenal in 1964 from Leicester City was Scotsman Frank McLintock. Back then McLintock arrived in North London for a club record fee of £80,000 after 8 years of playing for Leicester and recently breaking into the Scotland first team. However, despite his experience the Scot didn’t have the best of starts at Arsenal.
His first few seasons at the club would see us finish in mid table for the most part (13th, 14th, 7th and 9th). I can’t even imagine the pressure that the club would be put under if that was to happen now, but anyway, back to the good stuff. As the club moved closer to the turn of the decade they also moved closer to the period McLintock and that side is most known for. Getting to the League Cup final in ’68, a year in which McLintock won player of the year, was almost a warm up for what was to come a couple of years later.
The next season would see him take the captaincy and didn’t it pay dividends. McLintock would lead Arsenal to another League Cup final before winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup a year later as we beat Anderletch 4-3 over two legs in 1970. 1970-71 without question will be his most memorable season at Arsenal though. Now in his 7th year at the club he captained the team to Arsenal’s first league and cup double, clinching the title against Tottenham and beating Liverpool in the F.A. Cup final courtesy of that iconic Charlie George goal. That season would also see McLintock win the FWA player of the year. He would spend two more years at the club before moving on to QPR where he spent four years before retiring.
Next up is someone who came back into the Arsenal spotlight a few years ago. Steve Bould, our current assistant manager who spent 11 years at Highbury as a player as part of that famous back four with Lee Dixon, Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn.
Costing us £390,000 from Stoke Bould would slot straight into that defence and in his first season he helped keep things solid at the back as we won the First Division in dramatic fashion, keeping that final clean sheet that made it possible to win the league before winning it again a couple of years later.
In a season where Arsenal would win both the F.A. and League Cups, Bould had the honour of scoring Arsenal’s first goal of the Premier League era in an opening day defeat to Norwich. Unfortunately though he would miss out on those finals through injury Bould but was able to play in our 1994 triumph over Parma in the Cup Winners Cup keeping yet another sheet in a 1-0 win.
After a trophyless few years the later stages of his playing career at Arsenal would see him help Arsenal to their 2nd league and cup double. His assist for Adams’ title clinching goal against Everton showed that just as well as defending, Bould could do just as well on the ball.
Since retiring Bould was coaching in the Arsenal Academy, overseeing the F.A. Youth Cup triumph in 2009 before replacing Pat Rice as assistant manager in the summer of 2012.
Last up on the list is Martin Keown. Keown’s route to becoming an Arsenal regular was a bit unorthodox for a player that came through the youth system at The Arsenal. Having graduated into the first team in 1984 but then being sold by George Graham two years later to Aston Villa before having a spell at Everton and then being re-signed by Arsenal in 1993.
Much like Mclintock, Keown’s early stages back at Highbury weren’t as successful as the back end. With the removal of Steve Bould, Keown took on the number 5 shirt. Under Arsene Wenger, Keown would become a real regular in the side helping the club to doubles in ’98 and ’02.
However, his most memorable moment in an Arsenal shirt was yet to come. In September 2003 on the way to our unbeaten league season we faced Manchester United at Old Trafford which saw Ruud van Nistelrooy right in the thick of it having gotten Patrick Vieira wrongfully sent off. Late on the Dutchman had a chance to take away Arsenal’s unbeaten chances that early in the season with a penalty but hit the crossbar. What happened next if you asked Arsenal fans was pure justice and rage flowing out of the Arsenal players still on the pitch, Keown being one of those players leaving one on van Nistelrooy to let him know what time it was. As we know that season ended with a Golden Premier League trophy but it was also the end of Keown’s playing career at Arsenal.
I hoped you enjoyed, I’ll be back again same time next week.
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