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Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are all nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or after helping Arsenal win the 2025-26 Premier League title.
They’ll be hoping their historic achievement translates into a place among the Gunners’ highest-ever finishers in the prestigious individual award.
The club have never boasted a Ballon d’Or winner, despite boasting some truly legendary players over the decades.
Arsenal’s other Ballon d’Or nominees are Mesut Ozil (16th in 2013), Martin Odegaard (19th in 2024), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (20th in 2019), David Seaman (20th in 1996), Bukayo Saka (21st in 2024), Andrei Arshavin (21st in 2009), David O’Leary (22nd in 1980), Nwankwo Kanu (23rd in 1999), Marc Overmars (23rd in 1998), William Saliba (24th in 2024), Declan Rice (26th in 2024), Robin van Persie (30th in 2007) and Ian Wright (32nd in 1995).
Without further ado, here are the 10 Arsenal players who have ranked highest in a Ballon d’Or vote.
Arguably Arsenal’s greatest-ever midfielder, Vieira was the driving force behind Arsene Wenger’s most successful sides, captaining the Gunners to their historic Invincibles campaign in 2003-04. Amazingly, he didn’t receive any Ballon d’Or votes that year, ending up behind the likes of Milan Baros, Ruben Baraja, Maniche and Antonios Nikopolodis.
In fact, Vieira’s only Ballon d’Or nomination during his nine years in North London came in 2002, when he finished 15th after helping Arsenal win the Premier League and FA Cup Double.
Amazingly enough, Vieira’s best-ever Ballon d’Or placing came in 2006, when he finished 14th while representing Inter Milan. While his club career was clearly on the wane, his performances in France’s run to the World Cup final in Germany undoubtedly helped his cause, earning him a place in FIFA’s Team of the Tournament.
Younger fans might not recognise the name, but real ones know. Jensen became a cult hero at Arsenal after arriving in 1992, fresh from scoring in Denmark’s shock European Championship final victory over Germany.
That earned him his one and only Ballon d’Or nomination, finishing 14th.
“I think many Arsenal fans wanted a goalscoring midfielder and thought I was it,” he told us.
“I was not that guy at all.”
Petit’s sole Ballon d’Or nomination came in 1998, when he finished 12th after an extraordinary debut season at Arsenal.
Signed from Monaco and converted into a midfielder by Arsene Wenger, the Frenchman formed a formidable partnership with Patrick Vieira as the Gunners won the Premier League and FA Cup Double.
He capped off an unforgettable year by winning the World Cup on home soil, scoring France’s third goal in the final against Brazil.
African players have historically been overlooked in Ballon d’Or voting, but Adebayor earned his one and only nomination in 2008, finishing 12th.
A funny, fascinating and occasionally controversial figure during Arsenal’s post-Invincibles, early Emirates years, the Togolese striker scored 24 Premier League goals in 2007-08 as Arsene Wenger’s exciting young side mounted an ultimately unsuccessful title challenge.
Adebayor was also named African Footballer of the Year that year.
Only Mad Jens could go from keeping a record eight consecutive Champions League clean sheets to becoming the first player sent off in the competition’s final.
That was 2006, when the German finished 10th in the Ballon d’Or after an extraordinary year for club and country.
He’d also finally won his bitter, deeply personal battle with Oliver Kahn for Germany’s No.1 shirt ahead of their home World Cup.
Remarkably, this was Lehmann’s only Ballon d’Or nomination. He hadn’t even made the shortlist after his starring role in Arsenal’s Invincibles campaign two years earlier.
Chile’s greatest-ever team produced some wonderful footballers, but Sanchez has a strong claim to being the pick of the bunch.
He was instrumental in their historic back-to-back Copa America triumphs, while his peak years at Arsenal were nothing short of sensational.
The forward finished 10th in the 2015 Ballon d’Or, having also inspired Wenger’s Gunners to FA Cup glory in his debut campaign.
There’s a parallel universe in which Arsenal built a proper team around Fabregas, won a stack of trophies and watched him cement his status as an all-time great.
The Spaniard was magnificent during those difficult early Emirates years, with arguably his finest hour outshining his predecessor Patrick Vieira when Arsenal knocked Juventus out of the Champions League in 2006.
He finished eighth in the 2007 Ballon d’Or, ahead of the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo.
But unlike Vieira, Fabregas never had the supporting cast or silverware. His messy departure to Barcelona and subsequent Chelsea stint only complicated his legacy further.
For all Arsenal’s proud history of winning trophies before 1992, Brady is remarkably the only pre-Premier League player to feature in this top 10.
Not Charlie George. Not Frank McLintock. Not David Rocastle.
The Irishman was a genuine superstar of his generation, combining extraordinary technique with the sort of creativity that made him a joy to watch.
He finished seventh in the 1979 Ballon d’Or after helping Arsenal win the FA Cup.
His subsequent move to Juventus only enhanced his reputation. Brady won back-to-back Scudetti and received three further nominations, finishing eighth in 1980, ninth in 1981 and joint-23rd in 1983, by which point he’d joined Sampdoria.
One of the most technically gifted players in football history, the Dutchman arrived at Arsenal as their record signing in 1995 and helped change the club forever.
His Ballon d’Or record speaks for itself: third in 1992, runner-up in 1993, fourth in 1997 and eighth in 1998.
We could spend thousands of words waxing lyrical about the Dutchman’s genius. In fact, we already have.
Arsenal have never produced a Ballon d’Or winner. But they probably should have.
Henry finished second to Pavel Nedved in 2003, one of the award’s most contentious results.
He also placed third in 2006 and fourth in 2000, 2004 and 2005.
Seven consecutive top-10 finishes at Arsenal, followed by two more nominations at Barcelona.
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