How Arsenal's Invincibles went 49 games unbeaten

It has long been viewed as one of if not the greatest team achievement in the Premier League era. Other contenders are Manchester United winning the FA Cup and the Champions League alongside the Premier League, or Manchester City's centurions.

Regardless of where you think it ranks with other teams' achievements, no one else has ever managed to do it. Arsenal went a staggering 49 Premier League games unbeaten in the early-2000s, which included an unbeaten season which led to the tag of 'The Invincibles'.

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When did the streak take place?

Arsenal's incredible unbeaten run began at the very backend of the 2002/03 season. Arsene Wenger's side beat Southampton and Sunderland at the end of that campaign, and then carried the momentum into the new season when it rolled around in August.

It continued throughout the entirety of the famous 2003/04 campaign in which Arsenal won the Premier League title with 90 points, 11 more than second-placed Chelsea.

Having achieved the seemingly impossible, Arsenal's next task was to keep the streak going for as long as they possibly could. That meant there was immense pressure in the 2004/05 season for every single game. They kept it up for another nine games in that campaign before Manchester United won a controversial match at Old Trafford 2-0 in October 2004.

Every match in the Invincibles' unbeaten run

2002/03 season

1. Arsenal 6-1 Southampton - 07/05/2003
2. Sunderland 0-4 Arsenal - 11/05/2003

2003/04 season

3. Arsenal 2-1 Everton - 16/08/2003
4. Middlesbro 0-4 Arsenal - 24/08/2003
5. Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa - 27/08/2003
6. Man City 1-2 Arsenal - 31/08/2003
7. Arsenal 1-1 Portsmouth - 13/09/2003
8. Man Utd 0-0 Arsenal - 21/09/2003
9. Arsenal 3-2 Newcastle - 26/09/2003
10. Liverpool 1-2 Arsenal - 04/10/2003
11. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea - 18/10/2003
12. Charlton 1-1 Arsenal - 26/10/2003
13. Leeds 1-4 Arsenal - 01/11/2003
14. Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham - 08/11/2003
15. Birmingham 0-3 Arsenal - 22/11/2003
16. Arsenal 0-0 Fulham - 30/11/2003
17. Leicester 1-1 Arsenal - 06/12/2003
18. Arsenal 1-0 Blackburn - 14/12/2003
19. Bolton 1-1 Arsenal - 20/12/2003
20. Arsenal 3-0 Wolves - 26/12/2003
21. Southampton 0-1 Arsenal - 29/12/2003
22. Everton 1-1 Arsenal - 07/01/2004
23. Arsenal 4-1 Middlesbrough - 10/01/2004
24. Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal - 18/01/2004
25. Arsenal 2-1 Man City - 01/02/2004
26. Wolves 1-3 Arsenal - 07/02/2004
27. Arsenal 2-0 Southampton - 10/02/2004
28. Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal - 21/02/2004
29. Arsenal 2-1 Charlton - 28/02/2004
30. Blackburn 0-2 Arsenal - 13/03/2004
31. Arsenal 2-1 Bolton - 20/03/2004
32. Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd - 28/03/2004
33. Arsenal 4-2 Liverpool - 09/04/2004
34. Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal - 11/04/2004
35. Arsenal 5-0 Leeds - 16/04/2004
36. Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal - 25/04/2004
37. Arsenal 0-0 Birmingham - 01/05/2004
38. Portsmouth 1-1 Arsenal - 04/05/2004
39. Fulham 0-1 Arsenal - 09/05/2004
40. Arsenal 2-1 Leicester - 15/05/2004

2004/05 season

41. Everton 1-4 Arsenal - 15/08/2004
42. Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough - 22/08/2004
43. Arsenal 3-0 Blackburn - 25/08/2004
44. Norwich 1-4 Arsenal - 28/08/2004
45. Fulham 0-3 Arsenal - 11/09/2004
46. Arsenal 2-2 Bolton - 18/09/2004
47. Man City 0-1 Arsenal - 25/09/2004
48. Arsenal 4-0 Charlton - 02/10/2004
49. Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa - 16/10/2004

The key players for the Invincibles

The players involved in that incredible unbeaten run will be remembered forever by Arsenal fans who were the right age to enjoy it, as well as Premier League fans who were subjected to their dominance. One player certainly stuck out more than anyone else as the face of the team, though.

Thierry Henry started 48 of the 49 games in the unbeaten run and scored a frankly ridiculous 39 goals in the process. Kolo Toure was an imperative player in defence, starting 47 games.

Jens Lehmann was imperious between the sticks, while the silky Robert Pires scored 23 goals in 40 starts. Other important names include Lauren, Sol Campbell, Gilberto, Freddie Ljungberg, Ashley Cole, Patrick Viera, Dennis Bergkamp and Ray Parlour.

How the Invincibles' unbeaten run ended

There is no good way for an unbeaten run like that to end, but there is a bad way. Spurs may be Arsenal's local rivals, but Manchester United were the main rival for the Gunners. The pair had been battling for league titles for a handful of seasons, and it was typical that the Red Devils were the ones to cull the unbeaten run before it could hit 50.

Arsenal travelled to Salford on October 24 2004 and were beaten 2-0 thanks to goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney. The first goal was a very contentious penalty after Campbell had challenged Rooney in the box.

That set the tone for a feisty affair which was settled with Rooney scoring on his 19th birthday, showing why he was destined for the very top. Arsenal would still finish above United that season, but they lost another four games and Chelsea were crowned champions.

Other Premier League unbeaten streaks

The English top-flight record before the Invincibles came along was set by Nottingham Forest, who went 42 league games unbeaten between November 1977 and November 1978.

In terms of the Premier League specifically, the next longest unbeaten run was by Liverpool who did not lose for 44 games from January 2019-February 2020. Next up is Chelsea with 40 unbeaten between October 2004 and October 2005.

Manchester City's best effort was between April 2017 and January 2018 as they went 30 unbeaten, while Manchester United have gone 29 unbeaten on two occasions. The latest was between April 2010 and February 2011.

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