Imagine an Arsenal captain raising one of the biggest trophies in the sport. Who do you picture? For many, it will be those who have led the club in the greatest moments of all: Patrick Vieira with the ticker type of Highbury at the end of the Invincibles season, a yellow-shirted Tony Adams on that remarkable Anfield night 36 years ago. For those of you of a certain vintage, it might be Frank McLintock, fresh from rallying the troops at Wembley to win the double in 1971, held aloft by his teammates.

These are leaders who fit into the stereotypical idea of leadership in English football. They stuck their body on the line, they bent the rules, and they covered every blade of grass in pursuit of victory. They were captains, leaders, legends. Such players often seem hard to find in a sport

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