Feature

Joining the 100 Club

Behind the Numbers

This week our statistician Josh James looks at those players who have played 100 or more Premier League games for Arsenal.

Aaron Ramsey made his 100th Premier League appearance when he played against Fulham at the weekend – becoming the 39th Arsenal player to reach the milestone.

The Welsh midfielder made his Premier League debut four and a half years ago – aged just 17 – against Blackburn Rovers on September 13, 2008. His century consisted of 57 starts and 43 sub appearances while he was also taken off in 21 games. Overall he played 5,560 minutes during the 100 matches, at an average of 55 minutes 36 seconds per appearance.

"Aaron is the third youngest player to reach a century of Premier League appearances for the Club"

Ramsey has so far netted six goals, and added 10 assists in his Premier League career.

According to Opta stats he has also created 118 goalscoring chances, been successful with 4,072 out of 4,644 passes (87.7 per cent) and won 124 tackles (76.6 per cent success rate).

He's won 74 free kicks, conceded 95 and been booked 10 times. He's yet to be sent off. Opta also calculate he has taken 5,873 touches.

He has played in 54.6 per cent of the league fixtures possible since his debut in 2008, and his record for the 100 games is: won 56, drawn 22, lost 22 for an average of 1.9 points per game.

In the 83 games he didn't feature in since making his debut, Arsenal have won 43 and taken an average of 1.83 points per game.

Since he made his Premier League debut, only five players (Sagna, Walcott, Song, Arshavin and van Persie) have made more appearances for Arsenal. This is despite the lengthy injured-enforced absence he suffered between February 27, 2010 and March 19, 2011, when Arsenal played 38 league games - in effect a whole season.

Aaron Ramsey Premier League stats

Games 100
Stats 57
Minutes played 5,560
Goals 6
Assists 10
Chances created 118
Shots on target 37
Shots off target 60
Hit woodwork 2
Passes attempted 4,644
Successful passes 4,072
Passing accuracy 87.7 per cent
Touches 5,873
Dribbles attempted 149
Dribbles completed 77
Tackles won 124
Tackle success 76.54
Yellow cards 10
Red cards 0
Fouls won 74
Fouls conceded 95
Offsides 1

Aged 22 years and four months, Aaron is the third youngest player to reach a century of Premier League appearances for the Club, following Cesc Fabregas (who was just shy of his 20th birthday) and Theo Walcott (who was 21 years and 10 months old). Walcott marked the occasion with a goal - in a 3-0 win at West Ham in 2011.

Arsenal players to reach 100 Premier League appearances by position

Thierry Henry and Paul Merson also celebrated their Premier League centuries with goals, while Kanu netted twice. Lauren trumped them all though, by winning the league at White Hart Lane on his 100th outing.

The average age of an Arsenal player when he plays his 100th Premier League game is 27 years and seven months. However this includes the likes of David Seaman and Tony Adams, who had already played a number of first division matches before the Premier League was set up in 1992. So, looking purely at those who made their Gunners debut during the Premier League era, the average age for a player making his 100th appearance is almost exactly 27 years old - nearly five years older than Aaron Ramsey.

Ramsey has now drawn level with Marc Overmars in terms of Premier League appearances, but is some way behind Ray Parlour who leads the way for the Gunners with 333. Next is David Seaman – 325 of his 564 overall games for the Club came in the Premier League, and he was the first to reach a century for Arsenal in the competition, back in 1995.

Of the 39 members of this particular '100 Club' 12 (31 per cent) of them are English, while 10 (26 per cent) are French. There are 14 different nationalities in all.

Ramsey is the 12th midfielder to reach the milestone, there are 14 defenders, 10 forwards and three goalkeepers among the 39.

Arsenal players to reach 100 Premier League appearances

Player Premier League appearances Date of 100th appearance Age (to nearest month) at 100th appearance
Ray Parlour 333 May 5, 1996 23 years, 2 months
David Seaman 325 Feb 11, 1995 31 years, 5 months
Dennis Bergkamp 315 Oct 25, 1998 29 years, 6 months
Martin Keown 310 Jan 13, 1996 29 years, 8 months
Lee Dixon 305 May 4, 1995 31 years, 2 months
Patrick Vieira 279 Aug 10, 1999 23 years, 2 months
Nigel Winterburn 270 Apr 17, 1995 31 years, 4 months
Thierry Henry 258 Aug 18, 2002 25 years
Tony Adams 255 Aug 26, 1995 28 years, 11 months
Kolo Toure 225 Aug 21, 2005 24 years, 5 months
Freddie Ljungberg 216 Oct 19, 2002 25 years, 6 months
Cesc Fabregas 212 Apr 9, 2007 19 years, 11 months
Robin van Persie 194 Dec 6, 2008 25 years, 4 months
Ian Wright 191 May 4, 1995 31 years, 6 months
Robert Pires 189 Nov 30, 2003 30 years, 1 month
Gael Clichy 187 Aug 16, 2008 23 years, 1 month
Theo Walcott 177 Jan 15, 2011 21 years, 10 months
Steve Bould 175 Aug 17, 1996 33 years, 9 months
Bacary Sagna 174 Aug 15, 2010 27 years, 6 months
Gilberto 170 Feb 1, 2006 29 years, 4 months
Paul Merson 160 Oct 21, 1995 27 years, 7 months
Lauren 159 Apr 25, 2004 27 years, 3 months
Ashley Cole 156 Feb 10, 2004 23 years, 2 months
Jens Lehmann 148 Apr 15, 2006 36 years, 5 months
Sol Campbell 146 Sept 25, 2004 30 years
Alex Song 138 Apr 20, 2011 23 years, 8 months
Emmanuel Eboue 132 Sep 26, 2009 26 years, 4 months
Tomas Rosicky 124 Dec 31, 2011 31 years, 3 months
Abou Diaby 123 Dec 27, 2010 24 years, 8 months
Kanu 119 Oct 6, 2002 26 years, 2 months
Gilles Grimandi 114 Dec 15, 2001 31 years, 1 month
Manuel Almunia 109 Apr 3, 2010 32 years, 11 months
Sylvain Wiltord 106 Sep 26, 2003 29 years, 5 months
Andrey Arshavin 105 Oct 20, 2012 31 years, 5 months
Emmanuel Adebayor 104 Feb 8, 2009 25 years
Mathieu Flamini 102 Mar 23, 2008 24 years, 1 month
William Gallas 101 Feb 7, 2010 32 years, 6 months
Marc Overmars 100 May 9, 2000 27 years, 2 months
Aaron Ramsey 100 Apr 20, 2013 22 years, 4 months

 

Arsenal players to reach 100 Premier League appearances by nationality

Arsenal players to reach 100 Premier League appearances by nationality

 

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Overall Ramsey has played 146 matches for the Club, and is fifth among the current squad (not including players out on loan) in terms of most games for Arsenal.

Looking at matches in all competitions, Wojciech Szczesny and Kieran Gibbs recently reached a century of Arsenal appearances, taking the total number of players to reach three figures to 203.

That represents exactly 25 per cent of all players to have represented the Club in history.

The first ever player to make 100 appearances was Gavin Crawford, who played for Woolwich Arsenal between 1892 and 1898.

An outside right, Crawford joined from Sheffield United, and became one of the Gunners' very first professionals. He captained the team for several seasons and played in the Club's very first league season, and scored in the first ever league win - a 4-0 triumph over Walsall in 1893.

He later moved to Queens Park Rangers and then became the groundsman at Charlton Athletic, a position he held up to his 80th birthday. 

 

Current overall appearances

Current overall appearances

 

 With thanks to Opta. All stats correct as at April 23, 2013

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