Arsenal have been a top club for a large part of history now. Even though they have had some great players, The Gunners have never had an active player win the Balon d’Or. Thierry Henry is the only Arsenal player to have finished in the top three. Widely recognized as one of the greatest players to never win the award, The French striker finished second in 2003 and third in 2006. This year Arsenal had four players in the top thirty shortlist. Can one of these win the award one day? what would it take?
The Balon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award in football. The winner is voted in by a group of international sports journalists, and one representative from the top hundred FIFA-ranked men’s teams and top fifty for the women. Everyone registers in their top ten and points are given to each player. The overall points for each player decide their overall rank. It doesn’t get bigger than this, the Balon d’Or is the one prize that every footballer dreams of winning.
After an era dominated by two giants of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, this year’s Balon d’Or top thirty did not feature either one of them. It was Manchester City’s Rodri who won this year’s award after an exceptional eighteen months of football. It was a close second for Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr and many people feel that he was hard done by. Rodri was a beast for club and country in the last year and a half and deserved his award. Manchester City now have a Balon d’Or winner, one more than Arsenal ever had. Can one of the Arsenal men win it one day?
Balon d’Or for an Arsenal player?
If I was told by a time Traveller that an Arsenal player managed to win a Balon d’Or, I would guess that it would be Bukayo Saka. The English winger is one of, if not the most consistent performers in the Premier League. He is not just amazing going forward, Saka is one of the best at pressuring the opposition defenders. But the Balon d’Or is bigger than scoring goals and providing assists. Unless someone matches Messi and Ronaldo’s offensive output levels, team success will play a huge part in the voting process.
Arsenal haven’t won the league in many years. They haven’t won the Champions League ever. If an Arsenal player is to win the award, they’ll have to do something that no Arsenal player has ever done. The Gunners are surely getting closer to a trophy every season as their group gels together and grows. It can be a possibility for one of the players to win it one day.
They had four players in this year’s Balon d’Or shortlist and it was the captain, Martin Odegaard who was placed the highest at 19. Bukayo Saka at 21, Declan Rice at 26 and defender William Saliba at 24. The award is for individuals, but team success is a huge part of it. The Gunners had the second most number of nominees from a team, which only shows how solid the squad is. If they start winning trophies, all of them can finish much higher.
The team is set up for success. They have an excellent manager, who is trusted by the fans, the board, and the players. The club have managed one of the best rebuilds of the last few years as the players have transformed into stars.
Who can win it?
Saka and Saliba look like the only two real options. Both of them are an integral part of their national teams as well as their club. This is where Martin Odegaard loses out to his teammates. Saliba has been linked to Real Madrid, which is a good place to win a Balon d’Or, but I genuinely believe that Bukayo Saka is the only Balon d’Or level performer in the squad. Will it happen? I don’t think so. But if it were to happen, it has to be Bukayo Saka.
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