The Premier League Hall of Fame is one of the booming things right now with the announcement of inaugural inductees Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry. With a 23-man shortlist announced for the next players to be immortalised, the celebration of the division's best is expected to feature some of the greatest names in Premier League history.
Here we take a look at 5 right-backs who should be there:
1) Lee Dixon
Dixon joined Arsenal in the pre-Premier League period and was a key member of the team's defence in the first decade of the rebranded Premier League. Dixon was a full-back who belonged to the old style, where defending opponents came first. He was a tenacious defender who appeared in 305 Premier League games for Arsenal.
After securing the First Division title twice well before Premier League's creation, the right-back went on to win a slew of other trophies, as well as a domestic cup double in 1992/93 and two more trophies as part of domestic doubles alongside Arsene Wenger in both 1998 and 2002. Dixon made 616 games for Arsenal in all levels, scoring 28 goals and collecting eight major awards during his career.
2) Gary Neville
No right-back ever has had more Premier League impact than Gary Neville, who rose through the Manchester United lines as part of the legendary 'Class of '92' before becoming a key member of a team that would go on to dominate English football. During the great Red Devils teams of the 1990s and 2000s, Neville was a key cog at right-back, collecting eight league titles and a landmark Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup treble in 1998/99. At his height, the former England international was regarded as the best right-back in the league, having been named to the PFA Team of the Season five times, including three times in a row between 1997 and 1999. Neville spent his entire career with his boyhood side and made 602 appearances before his retirement, an ever-reliable and committed performer in an era of unprecedented success for United.
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3) Branislav Ivanovic
Branislav Ivanovic made a surprising comeback to the Premier League this season with a switch to West Bromwich Albion, but it is the defender's tenure at Chelsea that wins him a spot on the list. Ivanovic came as a complete unknown and took a while to settle in at Stamford Bridge while becoming one of the best signings in the Premier League era for the Blues. The Serbian was also a powerful and aggressive defender who could play centrally or at right-back and was a key member of Chelsea's formidable backline as they won a slew of trophies. Ivanovic won three league titles, three FA Cups, the League Cup, the Champions League, and the Europa League throughout his Chelsea career, scoring a stoppage-time winner in the latter final as one of many vital goals.
4) Pablo Zabaleta
Pablo Zabaleta is still a crowd favourite at Manchester City, having played a major role in the club's rise to prominence in England. The hard Argentine landed the day before City's game-changing billionaire acquisition, and went on to play an important role in the club's growth and the unparalleled era of success that followed. Zabaleta was part of the team that won the FA Cup in 2011, ending a 35-year wait for a major trophy, before going on to win two league titles and two League Cups during his tenure at the Etihad. He appeared 333 times in all competitions before having 3 years with West Ham.
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