/ 26 April 2004

Arsenal make history

Arsenal have made English football history by wrapping up their 13th English title without losing a match and with four games to spare.

A 2-2 draw with north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday secured the point the Gunners needed to put themselves beyond the reach of nearest rivals Chelsea and claim their third title in eight seasons under the guidance of manager Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman said his side’s achievement in going 34 league matches without defeat — and potentially through the whole season — will ensure their place in history.

”We’ve won the championship without losing a game and that hasn’t happened until now,” Wenger said.

”For me that’s a tremendous achievement and I’m not sure we will see it again.”

Arsenal laid down a perfect foundation with a delightful first-half display, capped by exhilarating goals from French stars Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires.

But they were tested by a determined Spurs fightback in the second half and, after Jamie Redknapp had scored his first Premiership goal of the season, Robbie Keane converted a stoppage time penalty to snatch a much-needed point for the home side.

The draw meant Arsenal’s multitalented, multinational generation of 2003/04 emulated the achievement of the legendary 1971 double winning side, who also clinched their championship at the ground of their nearest and fiercest rivals.

”I would like to congratulate my players and staff for their attitude and the consistency they have shown,” Wenger said.

”It must have been good for the fans to see us repeat what happened in 1971 when we also won the title at Tottenham.”

Keane’s late penalty, conceded after he was manhandled by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, took some of the edge off the celebrations.

But it was still an afternoon to savour for an Arsenal side who have displayed remarkable mental strength and determination this season to bounce back from the trauma of the late collapse that saw them gift the 2002/03 title to Manchester United.

Vieira, whose influence as club captain has been enhanced by a greatly improved disciplinary record this season, said team spirit had been the key to Arsenal’s season.

”There is such a good spirit in the team and I think that over the whole season we were the best team and we deserved this title.

”We wanted to do it all together. We really enjoyed ourselves on the pitch and outside as well. Every day in training we have been working really hard and in the end we won it.”

Vieira admitted, however, that the brilliance of Henry, who has scored 29 goals in the league alone, had given the team a crucial edge at critical times.

”It is a team game but without Thierry it would be more difficult,” Vieira said of his French compatriot.

”I think this year he has been tremendous, like in the last two games [against Liverpool and Leeds]. When we were a bit tired and we needed someone to do something special, Thierry always stepped forward.”

Wenger’s achievement in outshining Manchester United and Chelsea with a fraction of their resources means he could have his pick of any job in world football.

But he has committed himself to staying in London until at least 2006, when Arsenal will move from their Highbury home to a new 60 000-seat stadium that will give them the financial firepower to compete with their rivals on a level playing field.

Wenger’s previous Premiership triumphs were achieved in seasons — 1997/98 and 2001/02 — in which Arsenal also won the FA Cup.

Yet despite winning doubles those Arsenal sides never achieved the kind of shift in the balance of power in English football that most observers agree has taken place this season.

For Wenger, the players and the fans, memories of this season will inevitably be tainted by twinges of regret that such a talented side missed out on a fantastic opportunity to win the FA Cup and the Champions League, as well as the championship.

But the current side still has a chance to earn a place in history by becoming the first English top-flight side to go through an entire season unbeaten since Preston North End achieved that feat in a 12-team first division in 1888/89.

They must now avoid defeat against Birmingham, Portsmouth, Fulham and Leicester in their final four games to complete a defeat-free campaign.

Chelsea’s defeat at Newcastle earlier in the afternoon meant Wenger’s side kicked off needing only a point to move beyond the reach of their London rivals.

Within three minutes they had taken a huge step towards achieving that objective with an opening goal that epitomised why a club whose own supporters once delighted in chanting ”boring, boring Arsenal” has become the club of choice for many of the world’s football purists.

As so often this season, Henry was the instigator, picking up a loose ball on the edge of his own area and accelerating deep into the home side’s territory before delivering a killer pass to Dennis Bergkamp on the left of the Spurs box.

The Dutch forward was equally precise with the low, left-foot cross across the six-yard line that Vieira just managed to reach at full stretch.

The second goal, 10 minutes before the interval, was every bit as pleasing on the eye.

An extended phase of keep-ball suddenly gave way to an incisive attacking move in which Bergkamp played Henry in behind right-back Stephen Carr.

The striker, who has emerged this season as a real leader of the Arsenal team as well as its leading goalscorer, cut the ball back for Pires who knocked the ball past Kasey Keller with a first-time shot.

Spurs’ comeback knocked some of the gloss off the performance but that counted for little as the celebrations got under way. — Sapa-AFP