WHAT MADE "THE INVINCIBLES", INVINCIBLE?

I was meant to write this post on Saturday night, but the other half persuaded me to join her in some wine-fuelled shenanigans, before I watched Match of the Day  and then pretty much passed out.  I then intended to write it late on Sunday night, but ended up watching The Equalizer  - amazing movie by the way - followed by another installment of Match of the Day.  Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

Every Arsenal fan knows about the legendary, yet-to-be-repeated "Invincibles"  season of 2003-2004, which saw the club go the entire Premier League campaign (and a further 11 games of the following campaign) without losing a single match.  This great feat had not been done by a top-flight team since Preston North End  in 1889. 

In 2012, the Invincibles were voted the "Best team in the Premier League's 20 seasons",  by a panel of top football persons - but what was it that made the Invincibles, invincible?

Let's start by taking a look at the starting eleven. (Made up of the eleven players with the highest number of appearances for the season.)

This group of players, helped Arsenal to finish the season on a grand total of 90 points; 11 points more than runners-up Chelsea, 15 points more than third-placed Manchester United, and a whopping 30 whole points above fourth-placed Liverpool.

Besides stating the blatantly obvious, that winning 26 games, drawing just 12 games, and losing 0, there were many more factors that in my opinion, played a big part in a successful 2003-2004 season.

German shot-stopper Jens Lehmann  was a world class, reliable 'keeper.  In what was his first season with the club, he played each and every Premier League game, keeping 15 clean sheets, and conceding just 26 goals.  In comparison, last season, Szczesny  kept 17 clean sheets, but conceded 41 goals, in 37 appearances.

Again, Lehmann was a world class 'keeper, no question about it, but he also had a solid back four in front of him, that communicated well and had a great understanding between them.  This is in no small part due to the number of games that they played together. (Unlike this season, where I've lost count of how many different back fours we have fielded - albeit, due to the "injury curse" that seems to plague the club). Ashley Cole  made 32 appearances, Lauren  made 30 appearances, Kolo Toure  and Sol Campbell  notched up 36 and 35 games respectively. 

For those who don't remember Kolo Toure pre-Liverpool and Manchester City (and the hilarious memes that still circle the web today), he was a pretty decent centre-back.  His partnership with Sol Campbell was magnificent.  Cole was in fine form, and Lauren was great.  I think people only realised how good Lauren was, once he left.  Very underrated. 

Look at the midfield compared to what we have now.  Patrick Vieira  and Gilberto Silva.  Two solid, intimidating, defensive midfielders with nerves of steel, who were good on the ball.  We simply don't have that now, and haven't since back then.  Robert Pires  and  Freddie Ljungberg  on the flanks.  Wonderful players.  Quick and creative, with Pires being the more technical of the two.  Pires finished the season being the joint top assist provider, with Dennis Bergkamp, and scored 14 goals in the league that season, second only to both Premier League Golden Boot  and  European Golden Boot  winner, Thierry Henry.  (30 in the league,  39 in all competitions) 

We do have the quick and creative players now - in abundance - but as I said in my last post, 3 Things We're Missing,  we do not have a midfield general.  In 2003-2004 we had two. 

The forward pairing of Dennis Bergkamp  and  Thierry Henry  was just incredible.  The two of them had played many games together, both knowing the other's style of play inside out, which made them a dream to watch.  Granted, Bergkamp was in his final years, and retirement approaching, but he was still just as magnificent with the ball,  even if he wasn't scoring as many goals as he used to.  Although he never really was a prolific goalscorer - but when he did score, they were rarely ordinary goals!

I don't need to talk about Thierry.  Everybody knows everything about him by now.  There's nothing to be said except, for me, and I would assume for the vast majority of Arsenal fans, 2003-2004 was his best season in an Arsenal shirt. 

So, looking back, and looking at the stats, I would say one of the main reasons The Invincibles  were indeed invincible, is consistency. 

To play the same back four together, with two rock-solid defensive midfielders, week-in, week-out, would give us a great boost.  We wouldn't concede as many goals, and we would certainly be able to retain our lead more often than we do now.  Again, with the forwards, a consistent pairing would benefit the team no end.  I'm not a fan of playing a lone striker the majority of the time.  We do score goals, but they tend to come from the midfielders.  Whilst in the bigger scheme of things, it doesn't matter who scores, as long as we do indeed score, wouldn't it be nice to have a deadly duo up-front?

I suppose these days rotation is the norm for most teams.  For many reasons.  Ours being mainly, that we always have 5 or 6, if not more, key, "starting" players injured at any one time.  There's also the fact of trying to keep all of the players happy.  You can't keep a big name, or top quality player on the bench for too long, for example. It's also common practice to give the young players a chance, a vital experience. 

A final point worth noting, is that we also fared well against those considered to be the "big" teams, as they were then, and until our record against our rivals improves dramatically, we won't be true title contenders. 

CLASSIC CLIP OF THE WEEK

For this week's Classic Clip, we're taking it back to October 1999.

With Arsenal trailing 2-0 to a Chelsea side that hadn't been beaten at Stamford Bridge since March, it was always going to take something special to overcome the deficit.

Step forward Nwankwo Kanu! 

3 THINGS WE'RE MISSING

The win against Manchester City at the weekend was fantastic.  To quote every pundit, fan and blogger out there, it was a solid, disciplined performance.  No doubt about it.  However, let's not get carried away.  It is after all, just one game.  We, as Arsenal fans, cannot shy away from the fact there are a lot of qualities the team is lacking.  Here are 3 things that I feel the team is missing:

A CAPTAIN MARVEL

You know what I mean.  That rock at the back, the one that throws himself into every challenge with full commitment.  The one who puts his body on the line, week-in, week-out.  The one to give those around him a rollicking when needed.  Somebody we haven't had since the likes of "Mr Arsenal" himself, Tony Adams, or Martin Keown and Steve Bould.  Koscielny and Mertesacker both have great qualities, don't get me wrong, but leadership isn't one of them.  Even Wenger himself has said he believes that the defence doesn't communicate as it should.  Not only that, but can you recall a time Adams ducked out of heading the ball, allowing the opponent to get on the end of it??  I certainly can't.  Both Koscielny and Mertesacker have done just that this season.  I imagine Adams would have watched those incidents, with the below expression:

 

 

Adams was a no-nonsense, old-school centre half.  This is what we need at the back..  If you need reminding of some of Adams' career highlights, or are too young to remember them, take a look at the following video:

 

 

 

A MIDFIELD GENERAL

 

Everybody knows we need a midfield general.  Everybody.  It seems even Wenger is now realising it too.  Having 5+ creative, technical, quick, little magicians is all well and good, but we need somebody to show grit, nerves of steel, somebody who will stamp their authority on the game, and pull the strings from deep midfield.  Somebody like Patrick Vieira, a true boss in the middle of the park. 

 

 

 

 

My Dad, an avid, season ticket holding, Manchester United fanatic, will disagree with me, as he did the other day, telling me "Vieira was nothing but a bully....until Keano sorted him out in the tunnel at Highbury".  The rivalry between Vieira and Roy Keane was legendary.  In my opinion, Vieira was the definition of a midfield general.  Tackled hard, passed well, scored some goals, showed determination to succeed, was a leader, and had great passion for the club. 

 

Not to get ahead of myself, but what Coquelin has displayed in the last 3 or 4 games, is that he is capable of demonstrating some of these qualities.  Against City you could see him commanding his team-mates to concentrate, to calm down, pointing out an opponent's run, and the sort, whilst sticking to the task in hand and making sure he does his job, as well as telling others to do theirs.  Passes the ball well, makes vital interceptions, and tackles hard.  I like it - but can he perform as well as that in the majority of games??  Only time will tell. 

 

I still think Wenger needs to go out and buy though.  Flamini and Arteta aren't getting any younger.  Wilshere would somewhat suit this position, as he did earlier in the season for both club and country, if only he could stay fit.  Below is some of Vieira's best moments.

 

 

 

 

A NATURAL FINISHER

 

Whilst we have an array of attacking talent on hand, we do not have a "natural finisher".

 

We have the target men who are good in the air, and can hold the ball up well.  We have the Henry/Suarez hybrid that is Alexis Sanchez.  We have Danny Welbeck whose goalscoring is hit-and-miss.  Not to forget Theo, but I have never really seen him as a centre-forward.  We need someone who might not be the most technically gifted player, but one who knows where the back of the net is, and finds it on a regular basis. Flashback to Ian Wright.

 

 

 

Wrighty was not the most talented player - but he was by far the best finisher at the club in his day.  He'd find the net more often than he would miss it.  Growing up, he was my idol.  He was a brilliant striker, a born goalscorer.  They just don't make them like him anymore. 

 

Most of his goals came from inside the box - as they should.  I've lost count of how many times in recent seasons, the ball will be crossed into the opponent's box, only for us to have nobody there to receive the ball, and our striker on the day, be it Giroud or Welbeck, is somewhere deep in midfield.  Wright was always in the box when needed, ready to put the ball in the back of the net, like he was meant to.  We just don't seem to have a striker of that mould anymore. 

 

He didn't just score tap-ins, he scored some spectacular goals, but more often than not, he was in the right place at the right time, showing a striker's instinct.  Sometimes lacking in discipline, but I feel that just showed his hunger, his love for the club, and the desire to win games.  (If you haven't read his autobiography, do so.  You can pick it up on Amazon for a couple of quid.  Well worth a read.)

 

Watch some of Wrighty's best goals and moments below:

 

 

 



 







MY PREFERRED XI TO FACE BRIGHTON

Here we have the starting XI I would use to face Brighton in the FA Cup, this Sunday.

Goalkeeper:  I've opted for Martinez between the sticks for this one.  He's impressed me in the few games he has played this season.  Brighton would be a good opportunity for him to get some more match experience under his belt, whilst also not putting Ospina or Szczesny at risk of injury or suspension.

Defence:  With Gibbs returning from injury, it'll do his fitness the world of good to get some match practice, in a game where he shouldn't be troubled too much, or have to work very hard (fingers crossed!).  Centre-back pairing of Monreal and Chambers.  Koscielny has been playing too many games with an Achilles injury, therefore it'd be wise to let him sit this one out.  Mertesacker hasn't been performing very well as of late - with the exception of our last game at Man City away - so giving him a rest could be beneficial.  Bellerin at right-back, with Debuchy out for between 6 weeks and 3 months (depending on who you believe), Bellerin needs as many minutes as he can get.  I was greatly impressed by how he handled himself against Man City on Sunday.  Other than getting done by Milner once in the early stages of the first half, he had a good, solid game, both going forward and defending.

Midfield:  Gone for a centre-midfield partnership of Flamini and Ramsey.  Coquelin has been amazing since he returned from his loan spell with Charlton, but to prevent him picking up a yellow, or even a red card, I'd let him sit this one out on the bench, and put Flamini in his place.  Ramsey, again, returning from injury (going to be a bit of a recurring theme with this line-up!), could do with some games to get him back to his best.  I don't think Ramsey had a particularly good game against City at the weekend - he didn't play badly, but we desperately need him to rediscover his form of last season, and prove that he isn't a "one season wonder" so-to-speak. 

Attackers:  Sanchez and Cazorla have without a doubt been our best performers so far this season, in my opinion, and surely we don't need them to get a win at Brighton???  I hope not anyway.  As I've said earlier, resting them would prevent risk of injury, with some important games coming up.  This gives Ozil and Walcott - again, returning from injury - a chance to stake a claim for a regular starting spot, and remind us of the magic that they are both capable of.  Rosicky out on the left.  Rozza has still got it in him, in his old age, as he has shown in his past couple of appearances.  Playing Rosicky, would give the Ox a break, as I don't think he is at full fitness right now.  Akpom or Joel Campbell upfront.  I've not been too impressed with what little I've seen of Campbell.  Some may disagree with me, but I honestly don't see what the fuss is about?  He scored a cracker for Olympiakos, against Manchester United, but other than that, what has he done?  Danny Welbeck is still out injured I believe, so this game could give Akpom some vital first-team experience, and a chance to showcase his talents. 

Agree? Disagree?  Sound off in the comments section below!

CLASSIC CLIP OF THE WEEK

 

Here's this week's 'classic clip of the week' starring club legend Alan Smith, scoring the winning goal against Parma in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final 1994.

 

 

 

These classic clips will be an ongoing feature of the blog, and won't just be of goals, they will be of anything I personally consider to be an important part of Arsenal history, or maybe just something to give us all a laugh after a miserable week!