16th August

David O'Leary made his debut for Arsenal on the 16th August 1975 against Burnley at their stadium Turf Moor. O'Leary played as a central defender for Arsenal between 1975 and 1993, where he made 558 league appearances for the club. Then he moved to Leeds until 1995 when he retired. Then he managed Leeds United between 1998 and 2002, and Aston Villa between 2003 and 2006, before coaching Al-Ahli for the 2010/11 season. O'Leary earned 68 caps for the Republic of Ireland to complement the 1005 times he appeared in an Arsenal shirt in all competitions.

On the 16th Auust 1980, Arsenal left-back Kenny Sansom made his debut against West Brom. Then he continued to appear in all matches in the 1980/81 season and in the 1981/82 season. For Arsenal he played 314 league matches, and he is the club's most capped England player, earning 77 of his 86 career caps while playing for Arsenal between 1980 and 1988.

Another player to make his debut on the 16th August, in the year 2008, was French player Samir Nasri. It was his Premier League debut after joining from French club Marseille. The match was played against West Brom, like that of Kenny Sansom's debut, and Nasri scored the only goal in the 1-0 victory at home stadium Emirates in front of 60071 spectators.