Most parents will tell you they don’t have a favourite child, that they love all of their sons and daughters equally.
Sports fans tend to be a different breed, though. Who doesn’t love to pick out a favourite version of the team they’ve supported for most of their life? No doubt that there’s a lot of that going on at the moment among Arsenal fans after Arsene Wenger announced on Friday he’ll step down as manager of the Gunners at the end of the season after 21 years.
Make no mistake about it: Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal was a successful one, even as it ends across a backdrop of swelling criticism after more than a decade of underachievement. The Gunners enjoyed their greatest success under the Frenchman, winning three Premier League championships, seven FA Cups and another seven Community Shields.
Shortly after taking charge of the London outfit, Wenger led Arsenal to the Premier League title and the FA Cup during the 1997-98 season, thus becoming only the second English club to win “the Double” on two occasions. The 2003-04 side went the entire Premier League season undefeated, and will forever be remembered as “The Invincibles.” These two teams loom large in the history of English soccer, and they dominate the narrative surrounding the Gunners.
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But somewhat forgotten is the 2001-02 Arsenal side that also won “the Double.” With Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires working in unison at the height of their individual powers, the Gunners won plaudits for the scintillating and swashbuckling soccer they routinely produced each week, and a strong case can be made that this was the greatest Arsenal team that Wenger managed.
That great Arsenal team arose from the ashes of a 2000-01 season that saw the Gunners finish runners-up in the Premier League for a third consecutive time. A humiliating 6-1 loss in February at Old Trafford ended all hope, as Manchester United romped to the title, finishing in first place by 10 points over Wenger’s men. In the FA Cup final, Arsenal fell victim to Liverpool, with Michael Owen scoring a pair of late goals to lead the Reds to a remarkable come-from-behind victory.
Wenger knew that changes had to be made in the off-season. Giovanni van Bronckhorst was signed from Rangers to help fill the void left by the departing Emmanuel Petit, while a teenaged Francis Jeffers was purchased from Everton. The most important signing was Sol Campbell, who the Gunners lured away from bitter rivals Tottenham on a Bosman ruling. It turned out to be one of the smartest pieces of business Wenger ever did, with Campbell establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League during his time at Arsenal.
The season started on a bright note for Wenger’s men with a 4-0 win away to Middlesbrough. Henry scored the first of what turned out to be a league-leading 24 goals that campaign, and Arsenal was off and running. A 2-1 loss at home to Leeds United the following week seemed to bring the Gunners back down to earth and serve as a subtle reminder they were not the finished article.
Arsenal quickly put that setback behind them and went undefeated in their next eight games (five wins and three draws), with Henry scoring seven goals during that run.
Henry bagged a brace on Nov. 4 against Charlton Athletic at Highbury, but it still wasn’t enough, as the Gunners fell 4-2 to The Addicks.
A five-game unbeaten run followed, highlighted by a 3-1 win over visitors Manchester United that suggested the Gunners’ title charge was to be taken seriously. A week before Christmas those credentials were called into question: Wenger’s side conceded a pair of late goals at home in a 3-1 loss to Newcastle United.
As it so happened, Arsenal’s third loss of the campaign was the turning point. They never lost after that, as the Gunners went undefeated the rest of the season, including ending the campaign with 13 consecutive wins.
The Gunners’ 21-game unbeaten run began with wins over Liverpool and Chelsea during the Christmas holidays. A 2-1 win over Newcastle on March 2 saw Bergkamp score one of the greatest goals of the Premier League era, as the Dutchman danced through the Magpies’ defence with some fancy footwork.
Up until this point, Arsenal had been involved in a dogged battle with Manchester United and Liverpool for first place. Three days after winning at Newcastle, the Gunners moved into first following a 1-0 home win over Derby County. However, their time atop the table was short-lived as Manchester United climbed back into first the following day.
On April 1, Arsenal retook the lead following a 3-0 victory away to Charlton Athletic, with Henry bagging a brace. They followed that up with a victory at home versus Spurs, and a pair of 2-0 wins over Ipswich Town and West Ham United.
Another 2-0 win, this time away to Bolton in the third-last game of the season, officially eliminated Liverpool from contention. It was now down to Arsenal and Manchester United, with the two sides set to clash at Old Trafford on May 8.
Needing a win to keep alive their hopes of repeating as Premier League champions, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson curiously left top scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy on the bench for this critical match. Arsenal was without Henry, and they clearly missed the Frenchman – the visitors produced very little through the opening 45 minutes, but managed to survive United’s sustained pressure to get to halftime tied at 0-0.
Then in the 57th minute, Arsenal forced a turnover in midfield, and Sylvain Wiltord broke forward with pace before playing a pass to Freddie Ljungberg who glided into the penalty area and forced a save from goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. However, the Frenchman couldn’t control the rebound and Wiltord was there to slide it home to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.
That was it. Wiltord’s goal stood up as the winner and Arsenal clinched their second Premier League title under Wenger, just four days after beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final. The fact they did at Old Trafford, home to their greatest nemesis, made the victory that much sweeter.
A 4-3 win over Everton at Highbury on the last day of the season capped off one of the greatest campaigns in the modern era of English soccer.
