The addition of Iconic Moments players has no doubt increased the appeal of eFootball to players around the globe. Now, having reviewed all the other Iconic Moments player cards teamwise, it is now time we turned our focus towards Arsenal Football Club. The legacy-filled London club has several Iconic Moments for their club legends, and here is a detailed review about all those Arsenal legends in PES 2021 with insights from the matches the iconic moments were derived from! Let us know in the comments which players of the following make their way into your matchday squad. Also, feel free to check out other teams’ Iconic Moments reviews.
PES 2020 Iconic Moments
PES 2021: Arsenal Iconic Moments
We currently have eight Arsenal Iconic Moments released in PES 2021 this season. Whenever any new Arsenal Iconic Moments are released in PES 2021, this article will be updated with the new set of players.
Dennis Bergkamp
Playing Style: Creative Playmaker
Looking back at the Iconic match
The match that was played was between Arsenal and Newcastle on the 2nd of March 2002. Newcastle and Arsenal were both frantic for triumph to keep up with their title force, however, both were denied of persuasive strikers. Patrick Vieira won the ball to set up Pires, and Bergkamp gave the completion the methodology play merited by exhibiting a ballet performer’s elegance to pirouette past Nikos Dabizas prior to beating Shay Given. Arsenal, for all Newcastle’s ownership, stayed a consistently present attacking danger and it was nothing unexpected when they multiplied their benefit five minutes before the span.
Bergkamp turned maker with a hazardous free-kick which Campbell made inside the punishment region to control a header past Given. That is the reason there is a case for his other piece of individual brightness. It prodded Arsenal onto two bits of flatware. Newcastle were title challengers that season, spending Christmas on top of the table, yet. Arsenal’s 2-0 win – the second was scored by Sol Campbell, typically assisted by Bergkamp took the stuffing out of them making Bobby Robson’s group faltered to the end goal and dropped to fourth.
Player Analysis
Dennis Bergkamp’s playing style is Creative Playmaker, which means he tends to control the game in a deeper position. If players want to fully utilize this card as an attacking threat in terms of goals then they should use him as a SS and if players use him as an AMF, he will not participate as much as needed in attack, but he will prefer lying deep and create.
Bergkamp’s biggest plus is his Finishing. He is an elite finisher, and his shots are top-notch. Adding to that is his ball control, absolutely amazing. He is a delight to use in a central role, as his runs are really good at finding spaces. Dribbling is great too, what lets him down is his Speed, which in some instances will find tough to adjust but it is not that difficult when you consider other aspects of his game.
Creative aspect, his passing is amazing. Comes with great passing skills, and his passes are weighted perfectly, so you don’t have to worry much about his short or long passes reaching the other end. The heading is below average, so don’t expect much from his aerial game.
Overall, a very creative forward who can score curlers effectively and can perform skills like Sombrero, certainly helps you gain a lot of advantage ahead of Blackball cards, thereby helping you boost your rank. Although his weak foot is probably not what you would call usable, he has probably one of the best chip shots in the game.
Formation Discussion
To get the best out of the IM card, you should utilize him alongside another goal poacher, preferably accompanied by another attacking midfielder located centrally. Managers having a 4-3-1-2 formation in the game are very effective in case you have this IM card. In a 4-3-3, 4-2-1-3, he fits best as a Creative False 9.
Robert Pires
Playing Style: Prolific Winger
Looking back at the Iconic Match
The iconic moment took place on the 7th of May 2003, when Arsenal played Southampton, safer to say, thrashed the latter 6-1. The game saw the beginning of the most coveted run of being called the ‘Invincibles’ of England. They had a 49 game unbeaten streak since then, thereby clinching the premier league title that season itself. Pires scored a magnificent hat trick in front of the crowd, scoring first in the ninth minute of the game.
He then went on to secure his brace at the 23rd-minute mark and finally put the final nail in the coffin at the 47th minute when he completed his much-esteemed hat trick. It is perhaps one of the greatest games played by Robert Pires in an arsenal shirt and certainly helped his team carry the momentum towards the end of the 2002-2003 season.
Player Analysis
Pires is one player who is often overlooked, maybe because his overall rating doesn’t impress many. This is not something new, but the users of Pires know how good he is. Pires is a fantastic dribbler, very good with ball in his feet, can create, can score, and provides the width you need as well.
The Frenchman makes timely runs, in wide areas, and does the rundowns to the through-balls pretty well. He is not a good skill, but dribbling is smooth. Finishing areas, good too. He does miss sometimes, as his balance is not very high. But his curlers are really amazing to watch, surprising as he does not have the best of stats. He picks his curlers right 8/10 times and this is not an exaggeration.
Passing is great, as his low passes are very accurate. Quick short passing is a positive. Long passes are good too, not at the elite level as his stats suggest. He is quick and good at tight spaces. Aerially, not at all recommended. however, a downside is that he gets pushed off the ball by physical defenders, and his balance is not enough to keep the ball for a long time.
Formation Discussion
The Iconic moment card though is rated as a left midfielder can very well be utilized as a winger from the left flank in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-2-2, 4-4-2 wide formation.
Frederik Ljungberg
Playing Style: Prolific Winger
Looking back at the Iconic Match
This version of the iconic moment Ljungberg comes from the backdrop of the 2002 FA Cup final played between the London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. The Gooners emerged victorious as Ljungberg scored the winning goal of the match. Arsenal emerged victoriously and claimed their hands on the 120th edition of the world’s oldest knockout football tournament.
Ljungberg scored a magnificent goal dribbling through the defense of Chelsea and humiliating John Terry on his way to an impeccable finish calling its way into the back of the net. The iconic moment demanded an iconic moment card in Pro evolution Soccer and hence Konami honored the legend with an IM card, one of the best in an Arsenal shirt.
Player Analysis
A magnificent dribbler in Freddie is liked by many. A very good winger, he is one of the best in the game. Comes with bursting pace and skills, he serves as a perfect option for your wings. Offensively, he makes very timely runs. His awareness is really good and does land in great positioning on the pitch.
Ball ability-wise, no complaints. Very agile, smooth, and skillful on the ball. A decent finisher too, with a usable weak foot as well. he also has a long-range drive, with the ability to hit some shots too. Passing is also decent, but not among the best.
Freddie also Tracks back to help in defense, does cover up space very quickly in a timely manner. So a midfielder in such a role with good stamina is always a plus. Overall, a very good all-around winger providing the best of his abilities.
Formation Discussion
A 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2 formation makes a good fit for him. He can be well utilized as a wide flank attacker, with his pace helping to track back and defend quickly, and can even be used as an attacking midfielder as well.
Patrick Vieira
Playing Style: Box-to-Box
Looking back at the Iconic Match
Arsenal played Leicester City on 15th May 2004, in front of nearly 40,000 supporters gathered to witness a historic moment, perhaps which was considered to be impossible at the time. However, the match started in horror as Leicester opened the scoring in the 26th minute.
But, Arsenal turned things around, with Henry equalizing and Vieira scoring to get a win on the last day of the league to create a great achievement that is still being remembered.
Player Analysis
It is perhaps safe to say that Patrick Vieira is the best CDM available in the game. He is one of the most used cards in PES 2021. His physicality and his defensive capabilities make him a great option for that CDM role. Yes, he does have a few cons, but that doesn’t keep him any low at being the best.
Talking about his offensive stats, he is okayish at holding the ball at his feet but dependable. His Finishing is average, and with improved Speed, he can be a great threat going forward. This sometimes affects the players while defending counters, as this gives space in the midfield.
Unlike his Destroyer version, he is not a pure defensive midfielder as he will push forward often. Aerial presence is one of the best, which makes him an accurate threat in set pieces especially during corners to get the break-through when you need it the most. Defensively, he is a monster, more like a bully on the pitch.
His passing is not great like his other qualities utilized as a defensive trait, but compared to his other versions, it has seemingly improved. Physicality is another strong aspect. Overall, one of the best players in the game in his position.
Formation Discussion
The best formation to use this card is to use him as a double pivot in the midfield, as this version tends to push forward. Pair him with a deep-lying midfielder, in formations like 4-3-3, 4-3-1-2, etc. However, Vieira is very much capable of playing a single pivot, he is defensively a beast, but just that he leaves spaces a lot more in the mid moving forward.
Emmanuel Petit
Playing Style: Box-to-Box
Looking back at the Iconic Match
This Iconic Moment came on 5th May 1999 in the North London Derby which Arsenal won 3-1. Petit scored the opening goal of the match at the 17th minute and Wenger managed to emerge victorious against their age-old rivals once again. Emmanuel was one of the stars of the show not just with his goal but also with his overall midfield display.
Player Analysis
One of the players gets overlooked, and this is because of the beast in his own team, Vieira. Petit is a good DMF to hold on to. However, his stats for a DMF are not eye-attracting to many. He is not the quickest player on the pitch, but when it comes to defensive performance, he is a very good player to play on the pitch.
As for his finishing getting a boost, thanks to his Iconic Match, he can attempt some long-range howlers. Speed is a downside, and it is better to forget about his ball control abilities as he doesn’t offer much in both. Passing is pretty decent and can be very quick in using a Weighted-Pass through the defense to feed the forwards.
He excels defensively, as his Physicality and Awareness is a class act. He does easily gain an advantage over loose balls and does can be handy in duels when it comes to winning balls. Not the tallest, but his heading is not as average as the stats suggest. Overall, a very good DMF, and fan favorites can have a blessing having him.
Formation Discussion
Just like Vieira, Petit is also has a Box-to-Box playstyle, so it best to use him as a double pivot in the midfield. Pair him with a deep-lying midfielder, in formations like 4-3-3, 4-3-1-2, etc.
Andrei Arshavin
Playing Style: Roaming Flank
Looking back at the Iconic Match
Anfield – One of the toughest grounds on Earth to play an away match. Imagine going there is a premier league fixture and scoring 4 goals on the same day! Hard, is it not? Arshavin seems to have conquered a harder task by actually doing it in front of the top.
Arsenal and Liverpool played out a fantastic, nail-biting all-time premier league classic as the match ended on a scoreline of 4-4 on the 21st of April, 2009. Arshavin scored all four goals for Arsenal, poker of the highest order, including a stoppage-time sizzler to snatch a point away from the Merseyside Reds. One of the highlights of his career, the iconic moment was correctly honored with an IM card in PES2021.
Player Analysis
Arshavin is one of the most prolific right-wingers in the 2021 edition of the game. He has a style of a Roaming Flank in Game which means he tends to go wide and cut inside accordingly, making him very effective in exploiting spaces centrally by dragging defenders wide.
His stats are actually not justified when you just consider that one game, fans know how immense he was. He’s getting an 89 Finishing stat shows he was underlooked. However, keeping that aside, he is a good dribbler, with great dribbling skills. So, players can enjoy dribbling with him. He has great close control, and you find him smooth on the ball.
He is a pacy, a much-needed stat when on the wings for many. His passing is good too, can create a couple of chances from wide positions off by drifting centrally. He doesn’t have a weak foot basically, a reliable finisher so, making him easy to utilize on both flanks. Overall, a good winger with not many weaknesses you can point out.
Formation Discussion
Arshavin can be largely used to exploit his riches in the right-wing forward role with wide attacking formations like 4-3-3 and 4-2-1-3. Managers like R. Mancini, F. Santos, and D. Deschamps are some of the notable names with the formation correctly designed to utilize this iconic moment card at its fullest. He can also play LWF and does reflect his performances there too.
Tomas Rosicky
Playing Style: Classic No. 10
Looking back at the Iconic Match
The Iconic Moment comes with the backdrop of UEFA Champions League fixture between Hamburger SV and Arsenal. In a tense game, the away team managed to emerge victorious 2-1. Rosicky scored the second and the winning goal for the London side at the 53rd-minute mark, courtesy of a glorious long ranger.
Player Analysis
Not the best of his kind but a great team player kind, Rosicky can fulfill a team’s needs for a creative outlet. He is one of those creative mids that can be successful when you play him as a forward too. His playstyle might not come across as likable, but he does give his best.
He is an excellent dribbler to start things with, he can hold on to the ball close to his feet and still maintains the perfect balance while he is dribbling. He is a good skiller as well. Which makes him another great card for dribblers. Coming to his finishing, good there too, especially at Long Rangers. He positions them accurately and powerfully.
Passing is another plus point, both Low Pass and Lofted passing of his are well crafted to his teammates. Issues of having low Physicality don’t affect his game, just that he can be pushed off the ball easily but his balance makes up for it. He is a great utility forward, so you can have him as your go-to impact Super-Sub forward to change the momentum of your game.
Formation Discussion
Any possession-oriented manager will be the best fit for IM Rosicky, as he likes to control the pace of the game. At AMF and SS, Rosicky works great. Use him in a central position to use his creative productivity to feed your forwards. Formations like 4-2-1-3, 4-3-1-2, 3-4-1-2 are excellent.
Sol Campbell
Playing Style: The Destroyer
Looking back at the Iconic Match
2002 FA Cup final, Arsenal vs Chelsea, the best London derby. In a tense game like this, Sol Campbell’s immense display helped his team keep a clean sheet at the final of the coveted cup of English football, thereby clinching the title for the London side for the 8th time in their history.
The match saw the enormous impact Campbell had at the back of the team, being the backbone of the Wenger side, where they struck twice and did not let the derby rivals score past them. Arsenal was led from the back by the giant slayer English international, who further went on to captain the three lions on the international stage.
Player Analysis
Many players prefer Campbell, as he is a beast in-game. Without a doubt, Campbell’s defensive prowess does leave strikers in splits. One of the fastest defenders, Campbell offers much more than pace. He can adapt to any situation and does perform at the top level consistently.
When it comes to aerial presence Campbell is one of the best, if not the best defender in-game. He is very aggressive, as a Destroyer playstyle which means he will bomb forward, but since his position is CB it will not affect that much in his gameplay. But surely, if a miss, he can leave space behind. His Interceptions and Man-Marking are excellent.
His aerial ability is also amazing. However, with the pros comes to the cons. Campbell’s biggest flaw is his below-average ball-playing ability. His passing is a letdown and sometimes can get your team in difficult situations. He can’t be trusted with holding the ball for a long time as his ball control and dribbling ability don’t allow much. But overall, a defensive beast.
Formation Discussion
Formations do not really hamper much when it comes to the role of center-backs, as every formation will have at least two center-backs present in the formation. However, do pair him with a ball-playing Build Up defender for the best defensive line.
Which Arsenal Iconic Moments do you have in PES 2021 and what are your thoughts about them? So, let us know in the comment section below!
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