Our World Cup goalscorers and Golden Boot chasers | Feature | News

With some big names banging in the goals during the 2026 World Cup, there is plenty of focus on which star will walk away with the Golden Boot.

It is an accolade that has evaded an Arsenal player so far, but who has come closest to winning it at a finals, and how many goals in this edition for any of our current crop would see them jump to the top of our all-time top World Cup scorers?

Here is a complete list of players who have scored in the competition during their time in N5:

ONE GOAL – 10 PLAYERS

Ten Gunners have netted a solitary goal during the finals, with Marc Overmars holding the honour of being our first scorer when he finished off a sweeping counter-attack in a 5-0 success for the Netherlands against South Korea during the group stage at World Cup 98.

Four years later, Sol Campbell netted for England against Freddie Ljungberg’s Sweden, who grabbed his only World Cup strike in 2006 when he nodded in a late winner against Paraguay. A week later, Philippe Senderos also scored in Germany, when he gave Switzerland the lead against South Korea.

Nicklas Bendtner found the net for Denmark against Cameroon in South Africa in 2010, while in 2014 Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in a 5-2 success for France against Switzerland. Later in that tournament, Mesut Ozil netted in the 119th minute to seal a 2-0 win against Algeria in the last 16, en route to Germany lifting the trophy.

Only one Gunner found the net at World Cup 2018 in Russia when Granit Xhaka blasted in a spectacular equaliser during Switzerland’s 2-1 win against Serbia, while Viktor Gyokeres’ goal during Sweden’s 5-1 mauling of Tunisia sees him add his name to this list, with the potential for more.

TWO GOALS – FOUR PLAYERS

Kai Havertz netting in both of Germany’s games against Curacao and Ivory Coast so far means that he has already shot up our leaderboard, and a few more goals in North America could see him challenge for the Golden Boot, as well as reach the top of this list.

Two other Gunners have scored twice at a World Cup. Emmanuel Petit more than played his part in helping France to their first title when they lifted the famous prize on home soil in 1998, drilling home the winner in a 2-1 against Denmark in the group stage, and then tucking home a Patrick Vieira pass to wrap up a 3-0 success against Brazil in the final.

In 2002, despite never scoring for us, Junichi Inamoto found the net twice for co-host Japan, firing in against Belgium in their first game at the tournament before bagging the only goal of the game to beat Russia in their next game, helping them reach the knockout stages for the first time.

Robin van Persie meanwhile is the only Arsenal player to score in two different World Cup tournaments. He blasted in a free-kick during a group stage win over the Ivory Coast in 2006, while four years later he scored against Cameroon during the Oranje’s run to the final.

THREE GOALS – THREE PLAYERS

The closest an Arsenal player has come to winning the Golden Boot was back in 2006 when Thierry Henry was at the peak of his powers. He scored in back-to-back group games as France drew 1-1 against South Korea and beat Togo 2-0 to progress.

He then scored the only goal against Brazil in the quarter-finals, sneaking in at the back post to tuck in a Zinedine Zidane free-kick, but as well as enduring disappointment in the final against Italy, Miroslav Klose’s five goals took the Golden Boot, with Henry one of eight players to strike three times.

Four years earlier, his north London strike partner Dennis Bergkamp also hit three goals at the 1998 World Cup, netting in the same Netherlands victory over South Korea as Overmars, making it the only World Cup game in history in which two different Arsenal players have netted.

Bergkamp’s goal in that game is a hidden gem, starting with his back to goal but wriggling away from two players before prodding into the corner, but better was to come. After the Iceman got on the scoresheet against Yugoslavia in the round of 16, he produced one of the greatest goals in the tournament’s history to clinch a 90th-minute 2-1 success against Argentina, but finished three goals behind future Gunners teammate Davor Suker in the race for the Golden Boot.

A goal for Bukayo Saka at this World Cup would see him become our all-time highest scorer in the competition, after his exploits in Qatar in 2022. He became the first of our players to score a World Cup brace when he found the net twice in a 6-2 victory over Iran on his tournament debut, courtesy of a fierce shot from the edge of the box and a trademark strike after cutting in off the right.

Then in the round of 16, he clipped a low centre over the Senegalese goalkeeper to move onto three for the competition, but after the Three Lions’ quarter-final exit to France, he couldn’t catch Kylian Mbappe at the top of the goalscoring charts, who ended up with eight.