It has been
over 20 years since Arsenal last lifted the Premier League trophy, and for
their supporters, that wait has felt like a lifetime. If you want to track how
this season's title race is shaping up, the current Premiership odds tell their own story with Mikel
Arteta's side firmly in the driving seat heading into April. But to understand
just how big this moment could be, it is worth going back to the last time
Arsenal were champions and the extraordinary way they did it.
The
season nobody has matched
In 2003-04,
Arsenal won the Premier League without losing a single game. They finished the
season with 26 wins and 12 draws from 38 matches, accumulating 90 points and
finishing 11 points clear of second-placed Chelsea.
No team in
the history of English football's top flight, in the modern 38-game format, has
come close to matching it since, and that includes some exceptional Liverpool
and Manchester City sides. The achievement earned them a nickname that has
stuck ever since: the Invincibles.
Who they
were up against
The title
race that season was far from straightforward. Manchester United, managed by
Sir Alex Ferguson, were the reigning champions going into the campaign and
remained a constant threat throughout.
Chelsea had also emerged as a serious force after Roman Abramovich's takeover in the summer of 2003 brought a wave of new signings, including Hernan Crespo and Claude Makelele, with Claudio Ranieri in the dugout. For Arsenal to go the whole season without losing against that level of competition made the feat all the more remarkable.
They beat
Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in February 2004 and drew 1-1 with Manchester
United at Highbury in March, never dropping points to their two nearest rivals
in a home game all season.
The
players who made it happen
Arsene
Wenger had built a squad that was hard to pick holes in. Jens Lehmann played
every single minute of all 38 league games and conceded just 26 goals. Sol
Campbell and Kolo Toure were a commanding partnership at centre-back, Ashley
Cole was arguably the best left-back in the country, and Lauren was as
consistent as they came at right-back.
Patrick
Vieira ran the midfield, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg caused problems
from wide positions all season, and Dennis Bergkamp pulled the strings in the
number 10 role with the kind of vision that made everything around him look
easier.
Above all of
them was Thierry Henry, who scored 39 goals in all competitions that season and
passed 100 Premier League goals during the campaign. He won the PFA Players'
Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year, taking 87 per cent of
the writers' votes in the latter.
How they
sealed it
Arsenal
clinched the title with a 2-2 draw away at Tottenham Hotspur in April 2004,
capitalising on Chelsea dropping points at home to Newcastle. It was a moment
that their supporters had dreamed of, winning the league at White Hart Lane.
They then
completed the remaining four fixtures of the season without defeat to finish
with a record that still stands to this day. The 49-game unbeaten run, which
carried into the following season, was eventually ended by Manchester United in
October 2004, but nothing could take away what Wenger and his players had done.
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