After taking over at Highbury, Arsene Wenger brought players from all over the world. Many of his imports were French: enough to create an all-French Arsenal XI.
Over the years, our club's scouts have found a lot of African players, several of whom went on to become Arsenal greats: either by becoming Invincible, like former Cameroon international Lauren, or by saving Arsenal on numerous occasions with his goals, like our current leader Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
We used a simple eligibility criterion: if a player holds an African nationality, he can get into this team.
Shaaban; Eboue, Lauren, Toure, Traore; Song, Elneny; Iwobi, Aubameyang; Kanu, Wreh
Rami Shaaban
The goalkeeper was brought on in 2002 as a replacement for David Seaman and played just a few games for the Gunners because of the horrible injury he suffered just several months after moving to London.
Even though Rami was a Sweden international, he started his footballing career in Egypt, holds an Egyptian passport and was considered by the Pharaohs during his time at Highbury.
Emmanuel Eboue
The Ivorian spent seven years in North London. While he was not always cheered by fans due to his occasional blunders, the full-back is still remembered for his attacking runs and constant goal threat. He had made 214 appearances for the Gunners before leaving in 2011.
Lauren Etame Mayer
I know that the Invincible is a right-back but Lauren had the necessary qualities to operate in the centre of defence, too. Known for his determination and leadership, the Cameroon international went on to play 242 games for Arsenal, winning two Premier League titles.
Lauren was one of the senior figures behind our 2003-04 title win:
Kolo Toure
Eboue's follow Ivory Coast international, the centre-back made more than 300 appearances for the Gunners, with his confident displays helping Arsenal lift the 2004 Premier League title in the legendary Invincible season.
Armand Traore
Now a free agent, the 30-year-old was considered a bright prospect at Arsenal but failed to fulfill his potential. Traore played just 32 games for the club over six years at the club and earned five caps for Senegal.
Mohamed Elneny
Arsene Wenger believed in the Egyptian while Unai Emery considered him not good enough to play for the Gunners. While everyone may have their reservations about Elneny, his ability to sacrifice himself for the sake of the team is unquestionable.
We certainly need a defensive-minded midfielder in the squad and the 27-year-old whom Gilberto Silva compared to Patrick Vieira, definitely deserves a place in this line-up after making 89 first-team appearances for Arsenal.
Mo has earned 77 caps for the Pharaohs:
Alex Song
At his prime, Alex was a beast. A creative midfielder with an eye for the goal who was equally adept at playing in a box-to-box role, Song was an excellent ball carrier. While the move to Barcelona probably ruined his career, he managed to earn impressive 49 caps for Cameroon. He is still an active footballer but was recently sacked by Swiss side Sion.
Alex Iwobi
The Lagos-born forward left Arsenal last summer after reaching 100 league games for the North Londoners. The 40-cap Nigeria international currently plays for Everton and while Iwobi was always considered a talented youngster at the Emirates, perhaps changing the setting could help him fulfill his huge potential.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Auba is today's Arsenal leading goalscorer and captain and he has been one of our best players since joining from Dortmund in 2018. One of Africa's finest players, the 30-year-old Gabonese has scored 61 goals in just 97 appearances for the Gunners and has become a hero for many Gooners.
On the way to becoming a legend...:
Nwankwo Kanu
Another Nigerian in the squad, Nwankwo remains one of Arsenal's legends. One of the finest and the most decorated African players, the towering forward spent six illustrious years at Highbury, collecting five trophies and scoring a lot of goals fans still cherish, including, of course, THAT Stamford Bridge hat-trick.
Christopher Wreh
The Liberian was a very inconsistent performer. However, the mercurial striker scored several important goals for Arsenal, sending the club on the way to securing the Double in the 1997/98 season. However, Thierry Henry's emergence made it impossible for Wreh to get enough first-team football at Highbury.
Christopher earned 33 caps for his home country and is currently an assistant manager of the Liberian national team. He is supposedly a cousin of legendary George Weah, the only African to win the Ballon d'Or.
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