Clear eyesight is often taken for granted in professional sports, and football is no exception. Though a study spearheaded by King’s College in London found that blurred vision on its own doesn’t significantly impact football performance, clear eyesight remains crucial for gathering other types of visual information needed to play the game—like depth perception, reaction time, hand-eye coordination, and tracking the flight of the ball. 

More importantly, a clear and unobstructed field of view is vital for avoiding eye injuries, especially those caused by high-velocity ball impacts. These are the kinds of accidents that can end sports careers, which is why many footballers still aim to address vision issues by wearing corrective aids as they play. 

Given how fragile and unwieldy traditional glasses can be, most players opt for prescription contact lenses, instead. Coming from brands like ACUVUE, Dailies, and Biofinity, they can correct one or more prescriptions—such as myopia and astigmatism—while sitting directly on the eyes, allowing them to unobtrusively provide clear vision without getting in the way of physical activities like sports. 

In fact, they’re so effective that both current and former Arsenal players have been known to use contact lenses to continue their professional football careers. Keep reading to learn more about a few of them: 

Petr Cech

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech is considered among the best ever goalkeepers to grace professional football. He’s been known to practise his hand-eye coordination by playing ping pong one-handed against a robot. He was also known for putting his body on the line, something that’s caused him injuries in the past. Notably, Cech damaged his cornea in 2010, during his time with Chelsea.

He cut his eye after colliding with Everton’s Tim Cahill, and the resulting injury affected his eyes’ ability to focus on light and to see clearly. That’s why he started wearing contact lenses—and his career continued flourishing even after incurring such a worrying eye injury. He went on to win five FA Cups (four for Chelsea, one for Arsenal) and currently holds the record for most clean sheets in Premier League history at 202. 

Declan Rice 

We’ve previously praised Declan Rice as a world-class midfielder—and for good reason. His adaptable playing style and aggression make him one of Arsenal’s best players. All the while, he wears contact lenses.

Rice is believed to have an undisclosed refractive error: he’s been spotted wearing prescription glasses away from the Emirates, including while watching an Everton game in 2021. More recently, he was seen adjusting his contact lenses during a match against Crystal Palace in 2023. After asking teammate Thomas Partey about his lenses, he exited the game, requesting medical assistance so that the contacts could be repositioned, allowing him to resume the match. 

David Rocastle

Fondly remembered as Rocky, the late midfielder played for Arsenal throughout most of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, where he made a name for himself as one of the best in the league. However, what many don’t know is that Rocastle had poor eyesight.

In his early days with Arsenal, he became popular for becoming fixated on the ball, but only when it was near his feet—causing him to assume a hunched-over posture while playing.

Fortunately, he got his hands on some contact lenses, and the rest is history. Given his astounding legacy,  Arsenal Academy’s indoor centre carries his name. In 2022, Arsenal even collaborated with Adidas to release limited-edition trainers commemorating Rocastle—as well as his teammate and good friend, Ian Wright.

Wright opened the Rocky and Wrighty football pitch as a tribute to Rocastle, their friendship, and their successful football careers in 2023.