There’s nothing like a debutant to get football fans excited and Arsenal fans were beside themselves when these six made their Premier League bows for the club.
Every footballer, from Ballon d’Or winners to Sunday League plodders, is nervous before their debut. They’ve gone to sleep the night before dreaming of their perfect introduction for their new club.
Great debut performances are rarer than you think; Arsenal legends such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires all struggled to make an impression on their Gunners bow.
But we’ve identified six Arsenal players who made a splash on their Premier League debuts for the club.
Patrick Vieira
Quite possibly the best midfielder in Arsenal’s history, Vieira made an instant impression on his Premier League debut in 1996.
Coming on for an injured Ray Parlour against Sheffield Wednesday, Vieira flipped a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 victory with a performance of power, control and poise from the centre of midfield.
Dennis Bergkamp was an injured onlooker in the stands that Monday evening and later told The Atheltic: “Everyone in the stadium was thinking, ‘What happened here? Did I really see it right?’
“I remember people talking about it. He was there and controlled the ball, and when you think he was going to lose the ball he would pass and put someone in. He was a different sort of player.”
Ian Wright simply said: “I had never seen a midfield player like that.”
And Vieira’s stunning debut underlined how Arsenal would play during the glory years under Arsene Wenger. Transformational.
READ: Ranking every Arsenal captain of the Premier League era
William Saliba
Saliba finally made his long-awaited Premier League bow during Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace in 2022 and his composed display from the centre of defence was certainly worth the wait.
“I think the most important thing for young players is just to play,” former Manchester United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports after the game. “He’s got football inside him, I was massively impressed by him. He reminded me of a young Rio Ferdinand.
“Crystal Palace away is a tough away game in the Premier League. They come at you. That’s a big night for him.”
And the 21-year-old won Man of the Match with a performance so impressive that he pocketed Palace’s many skiful attackers without commiting a single foul.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Wenger’s parting gift to Arsenal, Aubameyang was able to give onlookers a…
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