Igors Stepanovs

Skonto

Born in Ogre, Stepanovs started his club career at Skonto-Metāls (later Skonto Riga). He made his debut in senior football at just 16 years old and won seven national titles. In 1995, he made his debut for the Latvia national team and soon became a regular member of the side. While playing with Skonto, Stepanovs played against teams like Inter Milan, Barcelona, and Chelsea. In these games, Skonto and Stepanovs performed well. In 2000, he attracted interest from many European teams.

Arsenal

In 2000, Arsenal captain Tony Adams was injured, prompting Arsène Wenger to sign Stepanovs for a transfer fee of £1.35 million. He started the season well, scoring a goal for Arsenal in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Ipswich Town on his debut. His playing time grew until a match against Manchester United, when both sides were battling for the Premier League title. Arsenal lost this game 6–1 and their chances of winning the title were hit. After this disappointing performance, Stepanovs played only once again that season in a game against Manchester City. He recovered to make six Premier League appearances the following season as Arsenal won the 2001–02 FA Premier League. Six would not normally be enough to earn a medal but he was an unused substitute on the day Arsenal clinched the title against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the scene of his lowest point the season before. Arsenal also won the FA Cup in 2002 and 2003 but Stepanovs was left out of both matchday…

During his time at FK Jūrmala, Stepanovs worked as a player-coach assisting the club's manager Vladimirs Babičevs. In March 2012, Stepanovs was appointed as the manager of Latvia under-17 national team.

Arsenal

Premier League: 2001–02 FA Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03 Individual

Latvian Footballer of the Year: 2005