As one of England’s most decorated football clubs, Arsenal have often had the pull to attract superstars to north London.

However, some of their most iconic talents have arrived to little fanfare, plucked by Arsene Wenger from around Europe for cheap prices and turned into behemoths of the game. Even before the legendary French manager’s arrival, the Gunners were a breeding ground for some exceptional talent.

But being a world-class footballer is no guarantee of honours – team or individual. Some of the greatest players to have ever graced the pitch have been snubbed for the most prestigious prize in the land: the Ballon d’Or.

Here is every Arsenal player to have won the Ballon d’Or.

Every player who has won the Ballon d’Or with Arsenal

The Ballon d’Or has eluded Arsenal players /

Unfortunately for the Gooners out there, no player has ever won the Ballon d’Or while donning an Arsenal jersey. There have been winners for Blackpool, Dukla Prague, Ferencvaros, Inter Miami and Hamburg, but none for the north London side.

There have been a few close calls for the Gunners over the years – coming specifically in the early 2000s under Wenger – but to be honest, there haven’t been too many occasions since the award’s inception in 1956 that Arsenal threatened to boast a Ballon d’Or victor.

However, the good news for the Gunners is that their stock has risen enormously since the arrival of Mikel Arteta and they have twice come close to a Premier League title that may have influenced Ballon d’Or voting.

For the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Arsenal have two players nominated after stellar 2023/24 campaigns. While Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are extremely unlikely to claim the award, it’s a sign that a future golden ball victor may already be within their squad.

Arsenal players who have finished in the Ballon d’Or top three

Thierry Henry has twice come close to individual glory

Only one man has ever graced the top three of the Ballon d’Or vote while in Arsenal red and that was the legendary Thierry Henry. The Frenchman is one of the best players to have never won the award and there were second and third-placed finishes in 2003 and 2006 respectively.

Henry was the Premier League’s leading player in the first half of the 2000s, guiding Arsenal to two top-flight titles. With the Ballon d’Or previously judged on calendar year performance, a sensational 2003 – which provided the first half of the ‘Invincibles’ campaign – saw him rival Juventus’ Pavel Nedved for the prize.

Despite Nedved having sparkled in Turin, many were extremely surprised to see Henry passed up for football’s greatest individual prize given his exceptional displays over the course of the year.

Henry’s penultimate season with Arsenal may have not resulted in any silverware, but the silky Frenchman did help the Gunners reach the Champions League final at the end of the 2005/06 campaign. He also produced three goals at the 2006 World Cup in which France also made it to the showpiece event in Germany.

However, defeats in both finals for Henry saw Italian World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro pip him to the post, with Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon taking second place.