By Daniel Mathie
So sports fans, the runners-up spot on this particular countdown is occupied by a team forever remembered for one specific reason: going unbeaten for the first time ever in the Premier League. Check out that historic season in 03/04 and how they managed to slowly but surely achieve that through one revolutionary man’s methods from 1996 onwards.
How a man who arrived from Japan went from ‘Arsene Who?’ to achieving something impossible in the Premier League.
‘Konichiwa Wenger!’ It’s the end of September 1996, and Japanese club Grampus Eight said an emotional farewell to a man relatively unknown in the football spectre outside of Asia and France (he had a successful spell at Monaco before managing Grampus Eight). His name is Arsene Wenger. While this incident seemed a mere sideshow at the time, it ultimately created a domino affect all the way over to England. Especially at the most English of clubs, Arsenal. Fast forward a few days and the newspapers were in one of the most curious natures for a while about an arrival. One title read ‘Arsene Who?’ Not for long.
Dinner with Dein, unorthodox methods and French connections.
Described by one journalist as ‘some sort of exotic genius’, Wenger’s arrival certainly turned a lot of heads. While the 96/97 season proved to be Man United’s year once more, Wenger was starting to sow the seeds and build a brand new empire at Arsenal. One of the major changes Wenger brought about at Highbury was the players’ diets. For instance, before he arrived, there had been a long-standing drinking culture there. People at Arsenal admitted that these sudden changes ‘added a few more years on to their bodies’. This shift in dynamic arguably helped them to cope under pressure and achieve the ‘Invincible’ status in 2004. These dietary demands started to not just ripple through Arsenal but the rest of the League, none more so than their rivals Man United who were starting to look over their shoulder’s a lot more than in previous years. Ferguson’s rivalry with Wenger was well documented over the years, with Fergie trying to initially dismiss this new threat by saying ‘he has no experience of English football’. The mind games certainly worked with Kevin Keegan, but not Wenger who stayed true to his unique training methods.
One of the people who praised Wenger’s quick thinking was former Arsenal co-owner and Vice-Chairman David Dein. Dein and Wenger first met when Wenger was visiting Highbury in 1989. Dein then asked Wenger out to dinner that evening and they started a bond that would benefit not just themselves but the whole Arsenal team in years to come. He stated that ‘Arsene revolutionised not just Arsenal, but the rest of the Premier League’. In addition, the former co-owner, who also had a major part in the formation of the Premier League, had seemed to have a premonition, remarking ‘I saw it in the stars, Arsene for Arsenal. It was destiny.’
Of course, despite improving the physical and mental aspects of the Arsenal players, Wenger needed to back that up with instant success. This happened, more or less so, in 1998 with a delightful Double orchestrated by David Dein’s access to the French Market. In came stars such as the tall and tough Patrick Viera, the quick and incisive Marc Overmars, and one of the most promising young talents of the time, Nicholas Anelka. All of a sudden Wenger had a team full of leadership, resilience and a killer touch. Their 12 point swing from Man United towards them between February and May 1998 signified Dein’s faith in Wenger had been right. It was the spark that lit the fire of a titanic tussle for numerous years…
Patience and Perception and the ‘Battle Of Old Trafford’.
Having won the Double (Premier League and F.A. Cup) in 1998, Wenger was now a force to be reckoned with. Rival manager Sir Alex Ferguson was looking to halt Wenger and Arsenal’s momentum. Ferguson achieved that with an unprecedented 1999 Treble and further League wins in 2000 and 2001. Wenger did not panic though. He made bold decisions off the field and used his connection with Thierry Henry at Monaco to bring him to Highbury. Anelka, who had impressed in 97/98 and 98/99 was sold controversially but Wenger had faith in his replacement. Despite a slow start in 99/00, Henry got going and formed a deadly partnership with Dennis Bergkamp. Wenger’s patience paid off and his side won a second Double in 2002 at Old Trafford, French striker Silvan Wiltord scoring the winner.
Now that fateful season came about for Wenger and Arsenal, but the road towards the impossible achievement was far from easy. That campaign, although they went unbeaten, they did register 12 draws. However, those draws could have been losses sometimes. Robert Pires dived to win a penalty at home to early season high-flyers Portsmouth who the Gunners failed to beat both times that season. Ray Parlour, who won all three League Titles under Wenger, confessed that ‘some of those games we should have lost’, but did reference that resilience and leadership instilled by Wenger. People also forget that at the halfway point, Man United were top of the Table, not Arsenal.
Of course one of the standout points of that season involved their great rivals Man United, in ‘The Battle Of Old Trafford’. The Red Devils had started the season indifferently, perhaps missing the spark of David Beckham who had departed to Real Madrid. However, just like the season before, they were intent on spoiling Arsenal’s dreams and the long-standing ferocity between both sides reached a crescendo. Prolific marksman Ruud Van Nistelrooy tweaked a nerve of Patrick Viera and Viera kicked out and was immediately sent off. Storm clouds were very much gathering and when United won a penalty late on, Van Nistelrooy stepped up but smashed the bar to keep the Gunners impossible achievement alive. Then suddenly, 5 or 6 Arsenal players surrounded him and started shouting and pushing him. Alan Smith, who played for Arsenal in the 80’s and 90’s, admitted the away team ‘went over the line’ in relation to their behaviour. The F.A. seemed to agree as all players involved were fined heavily for their actions. Despite this negative publicity, the Gunners showed character in their next outing and won against Newcastle.
The other point of danger came in March when Wenger’s side exited both Cup competitions, with United defeating them in the F.A. Cup and Chelsea halting their Champions League run. In an interview, Wenger commented ‘We could have won everything that season’. The bad patch was not getting any easier though as Arsenal next faced Liverpool in the League. All the culture changes Wenger implemented were becoming invisible to the players as Liverpool took a shock 2-1 lead at half time. The Frenchman, however, did not give any sort of ‘hairdryer treatment’ as his foe Sir Alex Ferguson did often in the dressing room, he stayed relatively calm and switched to a more attack-minded formation, encouraging his players to ‘go for it’ more despite admitting that the situation ‘was very worrying at the time’. Wenger’s decision paid off and Henry scored a hat-trick to turn the game on its head. The mental toughness plus the physical aspect was back in business.
Character, Endgame and Reaction to ‘Invincibles’.
Touching on Arsenal’s leading player, Henry, Arsene Wenger summed him up in that game by saying ‘you need a special talent to step up. Thierry made the difference’. Wenger certainly had the stats to back that up. Henry finished the season with 30 goals and came a creditable second in the Golden Boot race the year before.
With the latest scare behind them, the Gunner’s confidence was growing even more by the second. On Matchday 33, they visited their London counterparts Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea had just lost and a Danny Murphy penalty at Old Trafford put pay to United’s chances of catching the Highbury outfit. Spurs, though, had a long-standing hate for Arsenal. Jealous of their success, they were determined to ruin the sweetest of Title wins. Despite fighting gamely, they could only muster up a 2-2 draw. Arsenal were Champions once more.
With the League secured, Wenger now demanded his players to ‘become immortal now’. Although they achieved that with another turnaround against Leicester on the final day, the Arsenal boss conceded that he felt ‘it was one the hardest challenges ever and he was more stressed in those games after winning the League.’
Despite Wenger admitting the achievement came ‘just in time’ due to Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea take off, nothing can take away from the true grit, desire and class the squad of 2004 had. Phil Neville admitted that ‘it was some of the best football he had ever seen’. United were often famed for their own comebacks, so Arsenal somewhat stole some of their thunder numerous times that year. Even Roy Keane, who had many tussles with Arsenal, said that ‘he would go and pay to watch them again’, whilst Martin Keown stated that ‘you could go to war with that group’. A group which, as 1998 PL winner Emmanuel Petit said, ‘had French flair, athleticism and technique’.
So even though Wenger’s policy failed somewhat after that, the ‘boring, ball in the air brand’ was dismantled quickly because of him, and now Arsenal can owe Wenger a lot in return. The culture and the pace of the team was one of true unity and skill. The 03/04 team will be labelled as the first ‘Invincibles’ in the Premier League, a truly one of a kind achievement to this day in England. Wenger made astute decisions when needed, especially defensively. With Cole, Campbell, Toure and Viera defending, and Henry and Bergkamp linking up to lethal effect, the CCTV and BT were always connected with each other as the stars aligned in May 2004 on that Golden trophy to perfection, together as one. Wenger’s own historic dream lasts to this day, an arc started by one chat in 1989, ending in immortality.
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