Marc Overmars
Marc Overmars is a Dutch winger who played exactly 100 Premier League games for Arsenal between 1997 and 2000. He scored the goals that turned the 1997/98 title race, and scored in the FA Cup final that completed the Double.
- Clubs
- Go Ahead Eagles (1990 to 1991), Willem II (1991 to 1992), Ajax (1992 to 1997), Arsenal (1997 to 2000), Barcelona (2000 to 2004), Go Ahead Eagles (2008 to 2009)
- Premier League
- 100 appearances, 25 goals
- Honours
- Premier League 1998, FA Cup 1998, Champions League 1995, Eredivisie 1994, 1995 and 1996
- International
- Netherlands, 86 caps, 17 goals
- Fantasy price
- £9.5m in 1997/98
Who did he play for?
He came through at Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II before Ajax signed him in 1992. He won three Dutch titles there and the Champions League in 1995, and was the best young player at the 1994 World Cup.
Arsène Wenger brought him to Arsenal in June 1997 for a fee reported between £5 million and £7 million. He scored 12 league goals in his first season as Arsenal won the league and FA Cup, and was man of the match in the 1998 Charity Shield.
He scored six league goals in 1998/99 and seven in 1999/2000. In July 2000 Barcelona paid £25 million for him, then the most ever paid for a Dutch player. He left Barcelona in 2004, came back for a season at Go Ahead Eagles in 2008, and played 86 times for the Netherlands.
The moment: Manchester United, 14 March 1998
Old Trafford, Saturday 14 March 1998. Arsenal had started the month 12 points behind Manchester United with three games in hand, and had never won a Premier League game at Old Trafford.
With 11 minutes left, Overmars ran onto Nicolas Anelka's pass and flicked the ball past Peter Schmeichel. Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal. Arsenal won their next eight league games and took the title with two to spare.
On 3 May he scored twice in the 4-0 win over Everton that clinched it. On 16 May at Wembley he took Emmanuel Petit's through-ball and slid it between Shay Given's legs for the first goal of the FA Cup final. Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle.
Why the streets won't forget
At Barcelona he became the most expensive Dutch player ever, and the fee for him and Petit, sold on the same day, came to £32 million.
He was Ajax's director of football from 2012 until February 2022, when he resigned after admitting he had sent inappropriate messages to female colleagues. Royal Antwerp hired him the following month. A Dutch sports tribunal later banned him from Dutch football for two years, one suspended, and FIFA added a one-year ban in January 2024.
He had a cardiac arrest in December 2022, first reported as a mild stroke.
Which seasons can you draft him in?
Three, all with Arsenal.
| Season | Club | Price | His real league season | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/98 | Arsenal | £9.5m | 32 games, 12 goals | Pick him |
| 1998/99 | Arsenal | £9.5m | 37 games, 6 goals | Worth a look |
| 1999/00 | Arsenal | £8.0m | 31 games, 7 goals, 8 assists | Worth a look |
Twelve goals from a winger in a title-winning season is the pick. In 1999/00 he is £8.0m with eight assists, which the game scores at three points each.
Want him in your retro fantasy football team for 1997/98? He'll cost you £9.5m.
Draft a squad from 1997/98