The full index of articles so far… is published here
By Tony Attwood
After the 1997/8 season, Arsenal went on a run that for 99% of other football clubs would have been considered quite wonderful, but for Arsenal fans, the campaigns were frustrating. For having beaten Manchester United to the title in 1998, by just one point, in the next three seasons, Arsenal were pushed back into second place by the Mancunians.
Now this run of three consecutive second places was a major step up from earlier times, for Arsenal had won the league in 1997/8 after dropping as low as 12th in 1994/5, and there was a feeling that winning the title was part of Arsenal’s heritage. Yes, a run of second-place finishes was indeed an improvement on times past, but not an improvement enough. Between 1997/8 and and 2002/3 there had been six seasons, in which Arsenal had come first twice, and second four times.
The only time there had been anything better, from the point of view of Arsenal, was the Chapman era and thereafter, when Arsenal had, between 1930/31 and 1934/5 won the league four times, and come runners-up once.
Now, for those who had heard the tales of those days, football talk was getting a bit tiresome. Chapman had taken the club that had never won anything, and indeed had only just missed relegation under the previous manager, and turned the team into constant champions. So why, it was asked, couldn’t Arsenal fine themselves a second Chapman?
So the run from 1996/7 was the third attempt to bring back the glory of the 1930s. And yes everyone had to agree it was close for starting with 1996/7 the finishing positions were 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd. 1st, 2nd.
There were in effect two teams fighting away at the top – Arsenal and Manchester United, with Liverpool occasionally making a show of coming second, but not really getting very close to the top. And indeed in 2002/3 with Manchester United winning the league, and Arsenal coming second, Liverpool had once more faded away coming fifth, 19 points behind the champions, and 14 points behind Arsenal in second place.
But then came Arsenal’s 100th campaign of league football – and that number is interesting to remember given that the club decided not to do that much to celebrate the centenary. And in thinking of that, we might recall that in 2025/26 we had Arsenal’s 100th consecutive season in the top division, and the club knew about that (not least because I, and other people, told them, and they even mentioned it once in the programme early on).
But still, as with celebrating 100 years in the League, in 2025/26 we celebrated winning the title, although not mentioning the fact that it was the club’s 100th year in the top division. And so the media were left commenting on just how many years it had been since Arsenal LAST won the league, rather than noting the unique experience of 100 years in the top league. An own goal by the club if ever there was one.
But let us return to 2003/4, and if you were there, as I was lucky to be, the memory of this season and its extraordinary ending will surely be with you to your dying day.
And the reason for all the excitement was of course, that for the first time since the very first football league season in 1888/9, a club went through the whole season unbeaten. And there was a bit of a difference between 2003/4 and 1888/9, which was that in the earlier version, clubs only played 22 games, and minor details like penalties and goal nets hadn’t been introduced.
But beyond all that, there was something else, because just one season before the unbeaten season, Arsene Wenger had actually talked about going the complete season unbeaten – and the media sneered at him, laughed at him, told him that he still didn’t really understand the English game, and predicted a defeat very early on “just to show him”.
And let us not forget just how much the FA and their allies in the referees’ association had tried to help the rest of the league. There were many examples, but we might choose the away game on 26 September, in which the referee sent Vieira off, gave Manchester United a penalty with ten minutes to go, and yet still Arsenal were unbeaten!
Even then the league were not satisfied, turning the matter over to the FA (the league not having the power to impose further impositions once the final whistle had gone), who fined Arsenal £175,000 and suspended three players for what was called an “altercation” after the whistle.
But if the League and FA thought they could bully Arsenal into submission, they were wrong – Arsenal drew strength from the knowledge that everyone was out to get them. The pressure of the idea of an unbeaten season, plus the knowledge of what the authorities might do to the club, finally took its toll, as Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League. But the aim of the unbeaten season in the League remained, and was fulfilled.
But it was more than winning the league unbeaten; there was a goal difference of +47, the best attack in the league and the best defence in the league, with 90 points gained. Indeed, Arsenal had the best defence since Arsenal’s own defence in 1998/9, when just 17 goals were conceded
Of course, the media were outraged, and started printing stories saying that it was not really an unbeaten season since Arsenal were knocked out of the cups, but I don’t think any Arsenal supporter took any notice, and ultimately the anti-Arsenal stories became so silly, they were ignored.
Now my habit in this series has been try and deal with each season in one article, which is something of a challenge for this season, but I will try and pick a couple of pointers from the very last match of the season, at home to 18th placed Leicester City.
At half-time, unbelievably, Arsenal were 0-1 down, and genuinely, there was disbelief in the ground. Could Arsenal actually throw away the unbeaten record to a team that was already relegated?
Of course, we were nervous, but Arsenal stood their ground. The first goal meant that the unbeaten season was back on. The second meant Arsenal had clearly won the match. And as a third point, which not so many noticed, the Leicester fans stayed and applauded the Arsenal team on their lap of honour. Arsenal players applauded them back.
I had agreed to visit a friend in South Wales that weekend, but explained that on this occasion, the weekend would actually start late on Saturday night. And it was late. The North Circular Road was more of a crawl than normal, not least because there were people dancing in the road and traffic was reduced to a single lane. Everyone was honking their horns, and it continued for quite some distance along the M4.
It was, of course, a one-off, and none of us had any idea that it would be so long before Arsenal could win the league again, although we rather felt that it would take a while for anyone else to have another unbeaten season. Not even Manc with more money than anyone could ever have imagined could do it – at least not so far.
So yes, this remains, and will remain until my passing, my greatest “I was there” moment, and I owe it totally to Arsenal, that team, and Arsene Wenger.
