Champions League: Arsenal and its French players, a lasting love story

Luis Enrique's players are eagerly awaited by the London Gunners on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.

The fight promises to be tough. Having performed less brilliantly recently, Luis Enrique's PSG are aiming to strike hard at Arsenal on Tuesday, April 29th in the Champions League semi-final first leg and get closer (well, some will say) to the desired final. The fact remains that the Londoners, like PSG, have only played in one final of the competition: it was in 2006, which ended in a defeat against Barcelona. And while PSG has, for several years, enjoyed a certain popularity around the world, particularly in London, Arsenal remains a club deeply influenced by all the "Frenchies" who have worn its colors.

The proof is in, arguably, the most famous of them all: on the forecourt of the Emirates Stadium, Thierry Henry is there, on his knees, celebrating a goal, frozen in bronze for eternity. Like the club's all-time leading scorer, these French Arsenal players have left their mark on the club's history, or even, according to some supporters, completely changed its history.

"There are a lot of French people from elsewhere, expatriates here, who support Arsenal, because Arsenal has a history closely linked to French football, with French players, notably the 98 generation, with Emmanuel Petit, Thierry Henry, Robert Pirès... A lot of French people have an affection for this club ," underlines Stuart, a Parisian supporter who lives in London.

If Arsenal is the French people's favorite club, it's first and foremost the work of Arsene Wenger. He also has a statue of himself in London: the French coach stayed at the helm of the club for 22 years. " He was so... French! Thanks to him, there's still a link, there's a real connection, an affinity between Arsenal and the French. Today, there's Saliba... And because he's French and there's all this heritage, the fans love him even more ," says John Cross, a journalist at the Daily Mirror .

William Saliba, a true rock within the Premier League's best defense, is indeed the latest in a very long line that began in 1996 with the arrival of Rémi Gard, Wenger's first French signing at Arsenal. Since then, around thirty players have worn the Gunners jersey.