Arsenal’s ‘Invincible’ side of 2003/04 have been voted the Premier League’s greatest side in the division’s first 20 years fending off competition from several of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United sides, as well as title-winning sides from Stamford Bridge and Ewood Park.
Winning 26 games and drawing 12 on their way to the title, the all-conquering Gunners, captained by Patrick Vieira, were the first English side to go an entire top flight season without defeat since Preston North End achieved the feat in the 1880s.
Reflecting on his side’s achievement of eight years ago, Wenger told the BBC:
“I am proud of that – and very happy. I told the players at the time they can achieve something special by becoming champions and being ‘invincible’ – and they did it.
“At the time they didn’t realise how much it could mean in the future, but I am very proud of them.”
Responding to suggestions that he could create another side capable of matching the quality of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and co. the Frenchman admitted that he was aiming to restore the glory days to N5.
“My target is to get back to that, to get back to that level.
“I feel personally we are not far from coming back to fight for the championship, let’s hope we can show that next season”
For those looking to re-live some of the results, stats and quotes which made up that unforgettable season, Arseblog News suggests you check out – http://arsenal-invincibles.com/
I miss the invincibles
i miss the attitude, when we walked into a pitch we didnt just expect to win we knew what we had to do to win, and boy was it was ruthless, score goals, defend,score goals, a game plan with players more than capable of carrying it out to perfection, and at all times 11 leaders on the pitch, every single one of them could have been a captain in any club in the world, character,class and efficiency, One of the best teams not just in the Bpl but in the world no doubt.
Yes I definitely miss the attitude part. Can’t help but smile when I see Keown goading van Nistelrooy. That aggressiveness is one thing we have lacked over the years.
We should be proud of our Invincibles. We are soo lucky to have these world class players in their prime playing for us, what they have done is once in a lifetime achievement i think its an extremely difficult feat to emulate in this current generation. We had players like Pires and Thierry, just by being in the lineup scares the opposition teams. They were feared. Dennis Bergkamp was our brain. Everything he touches turns into a gold or should i say goal? Kolo and Sol at their prime were rock solid you wouldn’t trade them for anyone. Ljungberg runs… Read more »
don’t leave out cygan
I miss the group hug at the end of of every game. There was so much unity then. Everyone played for each other..
How does one correct the website that says Toure was wearing the no.5 that season? it was 28! Pretty bad mistake to make right there IMO
they were real soldiers.it’s like watching 300
Except less homoerotic.
Oh i dunno, still gives me a bit of a semi just thinking how good that team was. . .
“My target is to get back to that, to get back to that level. “I feel personally we are not far from coming back to fight for the championship, let’s hope we can show that next season” Pretty good target to have. I feel that Wenger has learnt from some mistakes he has made in the past. Now he seems to be matching our young players coming through with some experienced signings. Also they seem to be singings that have some strength about them. No longer do we get bullied out of games, we saw that at Stoke this year.… Read more »
Intelligent and positive comment from shavid is typically followed by the reverse. We all wish it wasn’t so but the best thing we can do is what you guys already did in the following comments
You talk too much mate @Shavid
you shouldn’t be talking at all
pow
by that I don’t mean prisoner of war, just Pow!
piss off you nonce.
If this team was not able to dominate for 10-15 years then Man City don’t stand a chance!
you say that, but the reason we couldn’t keep them together was precisely because the oligarch made his assault on the football scene. Vieira went in search for ‘better’ things, Cashley – well we all know about him – and the spine of the team crumbled very quickly. I can’t see how City’s planned dominance could be undermined, unless the Sheikhs decide that their ego has been flattered enough and withdraw, or unless UEFA actually implement FFP without bottling it. But given their predilection for banning aggrieved managers all the while condoning racist behaviour, I can’t see that happening either.… Read more »
Oh what I would give for FIFA to actually enforce FFP!
Fingers crossed
worth saying the team were not brought together for billions aswell
I reckon next year we should go for the invisibles, would be a lot easier to get past people.
How you could even put any Utd or Chelsea side in contention with the Invincibles side is beyond me. They played some of the most jaw-dropping football that has (and will) ever been played, went 49 games unbeaten (holy shit!). 49 games without a single loss, in a league as tough and ruthless as the EPL is a monumental feat.
The Invincibles – the best side in the last 100 years of football, let alone 20!
And in the 50th match was cheated to defeat by English refs.
Steady on there. The Invincibles were probably the best British side in the last 20 years, but to say that they were the best in the last 100 years of football is just nonsense.
How many other sides can you list here, which would not only go unbeaten in a single season, but for 49 games on a stretch? And do bear in mind that the EPL is the most toughest league in the world, where a lot of clean sheets are kept and plenty of goals are also scored, a lot of upsets happen, big teams lose ‘easy’ games and so on. Even Manchester City ‘greatest squad ever assembled’ couldnt do it! Even after spending billions. The strongest ManUtd sides throughout the years couldn’t do it. Even all of Chelsea’s billions couldnt do… Read more »
Invincibles were one of the very best, no doubt. But for me the Liverpool side with Barnes, Beardsley, Aldridge, Rush, Houghton played mindblowing football. Probably the best I’ve ever seen and certainly on a par with modern Barcelona.
They were a good side, I remember them demolishing Forest 5-0, an awesome display, but I think some young upstarts from North London got the better of them in the end.
The sad thing about the Invcibles was they didn’t win the CL when they should have in 2004. We had that run of games that included Chelsea in the quarters twice, United in the cup semi and league and Liverpool in league. Arsene still regrets not targeting the CL at the expense of the FA cup.
Open your eyes JJ, it’s day time…you’ve been having a nightmare.
Its not non-sense at all actually, I think there’s some very strong arguments supporting what iSayed said and since you didn’t offer one in return we can only assume that you’re just talking shite
Another trophy in the cabinet 🙂
I don’t think we or anyone else for that matter will build a team to quite match the Invincibles, but if next seasons crop can at least match them in desire and willingness to play for each other for 90 minutes+, then that will be a bloody good foundation.
Fuck mike riley.
The Invincibles were one of the main reason I fell in love with football. To me that is one the best team ever assembled in football.
My god, that has brought back memories of a team that were utterly unstoppable. A team that no matter what was thrown at them, they battled and fought for the badge, the fans, and eachother.
And throughout that unbeaten run it is worth remembering that Joey Barton was still a massive cunt.
I hate that Man City have Vieira.
Arsenal should have offered him a job.
Indeed. My eyes hurt when I see him there.
Kidd, marwood, platt all x gunners and not to mention the current players that are x arsenal they must dream of having a club like us the cunts
with viera it could have been about the money, great player , probably one of the earliest to start the transfer saga bs ( and back than we were a strang team)
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/05/15/3104215/samir-nasri-mocks-arsenal-for-finishing-third-as-manchester-city-
What a fucking cunt Cashri is. I can’t believe we had such a ******************** (Fill in with required abuse) oh our team.
He for me is as bad a cunt as Terry.
Motherless cunt hair
That kind of attitude is precisely what got him in trouble in the first place. I can’t help hoping the same happens to him – we seemed to have a curse on transfer outs here, hehe. Meaning no disrespect, Fabregas left, lifted a trophy and Barcelona goes down. I’d hoped Fabregas hadn’t left, so it really tore me a lot there.
Na$ri leaves (good riddance), lifts a trophy….and I hope the same thing happens.
This just sums that little prick up. Ain’t heard from him in a while, now giving it large once his team mates have won a medal for him. A few things he says in that interview are still staggering, even though we all know how big a cunt he is, and to me sum up how so many footballers these days are on a different planet completely. “If all that I was interested in was money, the easiest decision would have been to stay at Arsenal, picking up my money every week and walking into the team. ” – What,… Read more »
Can I apply for the David Platt non washing position? I hear the money’s good and I’ve plenty experience in washing my own nob.
That stupid chinless cunt, I hope he is dropped by France again for the Euros
Nasri is a cunt and it proves that you can’t buy class, City sure didn’t! As much as I hate him Sir Alex had it right when he said City are still 100 years behind United in terms of history.
We need a hard man in the middle to control things. Vieira was it. Song is not it. Please bring in M’Vila!
The Invincibles will always be the reason to remind us how lucky we are to have AW as manager.
As I’ve said a number of times before, I don’t believe that Wenger is the man to take us forward. He has lost his touch and will never produce a side like that fantastic Invincibles team of the mid-noughties. However, if he really thinks that he can build a Premier League winning team then here are the issues that he has to deal with asap: 1. Bad Defensive Organisation. It’s not the personnel but the way the side is set up. Over and over again this season we have conceded rubbish goals. It’s not just the back four, but way… Read more »
We need a new manager like you need a new hole in the head.
I actually agree with alot of what you say there Fatgooner, not all mind you – but most.
says he who earlier in the season told us we were heading for midtable mediocrity, and what did we do? Oh yeh, we finished higher than we did last season and with more points. Yes, you’re right, definitely not taking us forward…
thts cause the teams tht were aaround us were shitty. We’ve been playing badly most of the season, we cannot go through this, I can think of only the Blackburn and Spurs + 20 mins that we were good.
Fatgooner you make great points but it always seems as though you have a desired conclusion in mind and regardless of whether the points you make reflect said conclusion or not, you fire away anyway assuming that the points you’ve made are the only factors that matter. Anyway – 6. Manchester United who you clearly admire (nothing wrong in that) have a great manager who apparently would never settle for the kind of attitude that Wenger again allegedly is content with. The manager of the great club in Manchester is not known to dither on spending money either or strengthening… Read more »
I don’t agree we need a new manager simply because apart from Guardiola I don’t think there is anyone who can take us to that next level. However… Points 4, 5 and 6 are especially pertinent and only the most subjective can argue with any of those points. For us to move on to the next level we need to address those points and quickly. No more bullshit about mental strength and patience and blah blah, decisive brutal action is needed. Diaby should not be taking up a position in the squad until he is proven fit and able. The… Read more »
That was the side that should have given us champions league glory……..FACT….
The Greatest Champions League Semi-Final That Never Was.
Arsenal vs Real Madrid
The Invincibles lost to Chelsea. The Galacticos lost to Monaco. Henry, Vieira, Bergkamp, Pires, Cole, Ljungberg, Reyes, Wiltord, Campbell etc
vs.
Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Raul, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Beckham and Iker Casillas.
Fuck just typing that is making my mouth water. What a game that would have been.
I remember seeing Bergkamp and Zidane in the same screen shot , when we were playing Madrid , 0-0 i think. DB10 came in as a sub.
P.s…..Wenger can do it again…..the blue print is @ london colney…lol….
Without another 2 quality signings we are kidding ourselves to think we can compete for the title. Our main rivals will strengthen as per usual. If we don’t then best we can hope for is the fabled top four finish that arsene has now convinced us is just as good as a proper trophy and worthy of the dearest season ticket prices in world football.
2 more quality players that’s all most are asking for and believe its all we need to compete again.
I hope Nasri is seeing this.
Wenger is capable of assembling another invincible side and he started a month ago!!!!
I think one of the most significant stats from that unbeaten run wasn’t the number of goals we scored or how many we conceded in total, it is how many times we conceded more than once in a game. We could bang in three or four goals fairly regularly and to some extent we have the ability to do that now. But even with a two goal lead with the current set-up, I couldn’t sit back and think game over, let’s play keep ball. I read a lot of comments about what Vieira did and how Song doesn’t quite do… Read more »
I never noticed when gilberto was on the pitch, we were too busy attacking. I really noticed when he wasnt there though, what a player he was.
Master at making those tackles that on closer view could be carded. Hehe. Now thats a sort of player I missed, some one who goes about they’;re businees on the field, not much talking off it.
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What a team i was lucky to be a clock end gunner at the time when i lived there LEGENDS
Invincibles are level above everybody else and present arsenal team as well, also I don’t see this team progress to the “I” level anytime soon but that doesn t mean I won t support this club with the same passion as they are Invincibles.
Szcz
Sagna Jenks Kos Verm XX
Song M’Vila Rosicky Arteta Diaby Wilshere
Ox Walcott Rvp Miyachi
looks very good, if they stay together for the next few years.
You’re forgetting Poldi!
Maybe 🙂
remove Diaby and add the Coq in and you’ve got yourself a team there
Just heard the start of Adrian durams show on talk sport. And he’s gonna prove later with facts that the invincibles weren’t that good. The guy is such a twat. I think I have a new & more offensive name for Nasri. Instead of calling him a cunt we should call him a ” Durham”
They may not have been that good, but they did what no one else has done and that happens to be a fact. Unless he manages to alter the league table from 2003/2004 every other ‘fact’ he comes up with will only be analyses of hypothetical situations. Like how we might have won the league had Eduardo not gotten injured in 2008 etc.
So let’s add Durham to the dictionary. 49 games unbeaten – Fact. They weren’t that good, they were just the best.
All the Invincibles does is show how badly Wenger has lost the plot. This Arsenal side isn’t fit to scrub the mud off their boots.
It had players like Edu sitting on the bench twiddling his thumbs, yet he’s better than any Arsenal midfield we have now by a mile. That’s how high the standards were then, and quite frankly the standard now is abysmal by comparison.
True, but at the same time it also shows how far players have fallen in terms of standards and expectations. In today’s age I’d be surprised if an Edu or Kanu was content to sit on the bench and ‘fight’ to get into the team. Today’s players want to be the be all and end all of the squad and anything less results in them clamouring for a move or leaving as soon as their contract ends. In fact the standards are also abysmal these days at Manchester United and everyone knows where Liverpool are. The quality of people and… Read more »
Actually Edu was just like you said, he did not stick around because he could not get in the first team. I think everyone was disappointed when he left. But that was when Wenger knew what he was doing. He got great players in that did the job, whether the first team or the reserves, he didn’t f*&k about with some idiotic youth project in those days. He knew how to compete and made sure we did. Unfortunately all that success went to his arrogant head and thought he was himself invincible. But all he succeeded at was highlighting his… Read more »
It’s nice to know that you are privy to all the inner workings of Wenger’s brain and are able to work so much out. Why do people have to be either totally against him or can’t see him do wrong at all? In this age of colour people’s views are so black or white. And everybody knows everything and has the solution for every issue.
If Arsene wants to get back to championship level, he must keep RVP, Song and Theo while adding quality. We don’t need a lot but M’villa would help. Bring back Bartley, Ryo, Joel Campbell and Lansbury, let the present team gel more and get rid of the underachievers.
Adrian Fucking Durham, what a cunt. Says the invincibles “weren’t all that”. http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/virals/120515/adrian-durham-rips-apart-arsenals-invincibles-172152
We used to be absolute motherfuckers on the counter-attack. Win the ball quickly and pour forward in numbers and with pace. We rarely seem to take advantage of that anymore. Seems like we are more content to keep possession and let the opposition reorganise. I might cop some rage for this, but I think individually we aren’t really that far off the Invincibles side if you count Podolski. Each players has pace and skill to move the ball quickly enough. It’s the team ethic that made the Invincibles great. The will to win, dedication to winning the ball back, the… Read more »
Theres a little gold trophy, you only get it if you’re invincible. hands up who’s got one.
Anybody?
Not you Arsene, we know about you. Alex? Josie? Kenny? Pep? anybody?
🙂
[…] while the Invincibles have rightly been named the best team of the Premier League era, the whole concept of a ‘Premier League era’ is a load of old bollocks. It ignores the […]
Wenger believes we can do it again. Do you?