Data dump: Players with the most derby goals and games
Revealed! The unsurprising identity of Arsenal's top scorer in London derbies, and the equally unsurprising player with the most derby appearances. Make your guesses now.
I’m determined not to look at the idea of the North London Derby. There’s too much at stake.
As a way of distracting from this, how about some numbers? I’ve trawled through the history of the Arsenal men’s team to find the top scorers and most appearances in London derbies.
It will surprise absolutely no one to hear that Thierry Henry is Arsenal’s top derby-day goalscorer, with 46 goals in just 67 games.
In at number two is - shock! - Ian Wright, with 34 goals in 66 derby appearances.
More surprising is number three on the list. It’s Joe Baker, with 30 goals in 32 derby appearances, giving him a remarkable goals-per-game ratio of 0.94. This from a player who isn’t even in Arsenal’s top 10 all-time goalscorers.
Fourth place is another surprise: Paul Merson. Merse left Highbury in the summer of 1997 just one goal shy of 100 for the Gunners. However, 29 of those 99 goals came in London derbies, putting him ahead of, well, pretty much everyone.
Number five on the list is Double-winner John Radford, who found the net 28 times in 85 all-London ties while at Arsenal.
Most appearances
When it comes to the players with the most London derby appearances for the Gunners, it’s again no surprise to find Mr Arsenal himself, Tony Adams, on top of the pile with 156 games - almost a quarter of the 669 competitive games he played.
Second and third place go to Adams’ fellow members of that famous defence of the 1990s, Lee Dixon (148) and Nigel Winterburn (137). Goalkeeper David Seaman is fifth with 120.
Arsenal’s all-time record appearance holder, David O’Leary, is fourth in derby day games with 123.
Of the current squad for the 2023-24 season, Bukayo Saka leads the way on 13 derby-day goals (including five this season), closely followed by Gabriel Martinelli with 101.
Saka has also played in the most all-London games, with his appearance against Chelsea marking his 50th derby, ahead of centre back Gabriel Maghaeles on 392.
What’s the secret to topping these charts? In part, of course, it’s longevity. Most of the players in the top 10 appearances list were at Arsenal for a decade or more - Adams and O’Leary were one-club men.
The other factor, however, is that there are far more London clubs at the top level now than there were, for example, in the 1930s. This is why Cliff Bastin, Arsenal’s third highest scorer of all time, doesn’t feature in the goals list.
I would love to see Saka get his name on these lists, but it will require exceptional longevity, fitness, stamina, and consistency. And for Arsenal to keep hold of him…
Make that 14, post-Spurs!
Ditto, 51 and 40 appearances respectively.