As referee David Coote blew the whistle to start Monday's London derby between Crystal Palace and Arsenal, Gunners winger Bukayo Saka instantly equalled a club record that had stood for over 26 years.
TV Info - Broadcasters
The 21-year-old has now featured in 82 consecutive Premier League matches for Arsenal, matching the tally achieved by Paul Merson between February 1995 and February 1997.
Centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes remains in the running for the club record after 75 successive appearances, the latest of those coming against Palace.
But after being named on the bench for the last two matches, coming on in the second half, his sequence appears to be at risk of ending soon.
Most consecutive PL matches for Arsenal
Player | Matches | Run started | Run ended |
---|---|---|---|
Bukayo Saka | 82 | 9 May 2021 | - |
Paul Merson | 82 | 4 Feb 1995 | 23 Feb 1997 |
Gael Clichy | 78 | 31 Mar 2007 | 4 Apr 2009 |
Gabriel Magalhaes | 75 | 11 Sept 2021 | - |
Nigel Winterburn | 66 | 15 Apr 1996 | 8 Feb 1998 |
Saka's run of appearances is the longest current sequence among outfield players in the Premier League.
Gabriel is in second place, ahead of Brentford's Yoane Wissa, who looks set for a sustained spell in the Bees' line-up while Ivan Toney is banned. His team-mate Bryan Mbeumo is also among the top five Premier League players.
Longest current PL runs of outfield players
Player | Club | Matches |
---|---|---|
Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 82 |
Gabriel Magalhaes | Arsenal | 75 |
Yoane Wissa | Brentford | 66 |
Dan Burn | Newcastle | 64 |
Bryan Mbeumo | Brentford | 59 |
The all-time Premier League record for outfield players remains a long way away.
Indeed, Saka has exactly half the tally of the No 1 Frank Lampard, who made 164 consecutive appearances for Chelsea between October 2001 and December 2005.
Longest ever PL runs of outfield players
Player | Club | Matches | Run started | Run ended |
---|---|---|---|---|
Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 164 | 13 Oct 2001 | 26 Dec 2005 |
Wayne Bridge | Southampton | 113 | 4 Mar 2000 | 18 Jan 2003 |
Darren Fletcher | West Brom, Stoke | 112 | 8 Feb 2015 | 30 Dec 2017 |
Alan Shearer | Blackburn | 108 | 18 Sep 1993 | 16 Mar 1996 |
Jonathan Walters | Stoke | 104 | 2 Feb 2011 | 30 Nov 2013 |