Arsenal has had many great teams. Their best include three double-winning teams that have done the league and FA Cup double in various decades. Dating back to the 1970s, these are Arsenal’s double-winning teams.
The 1971 team was Arsenal’s first double-winning team. At a time when the Gunners had no foreign players on their side, this was a real British Arsenal soccer team. This side did not necessarily have many outstanding individual players, but they played and won as a team.
Bertie Mee organized a very solid side that was very strong at the back. Arsenal conceded 29 goals in 42 games and, in this respect, was better at defending than the more recent double-winning sides. Although they did not run away with the league, Leeds pushed them all the way. However, in the end, they finished a point ahead with 65 points, which would have amounted to 94 from 42 with three points for a win. In the FA Cup final, the Gunners beat Liverpool to complete the league and FA Cup double.
The second double for Arsenal marked a new era for the club. They had yet to win the Premiership title, but with Arsene Wenger as manager, the club was about to change that. Wenger had purchased some great new talent with the likes of Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka spearheading a new look Arsenal side. With Dennis Bergkamp up front and Patrick Viera in midfield, this Gunners team had some great players. They started well and soon topped the table, with Bergkamp scoring many goals.
While a dip in form saw them slip from the top of the table mid-season, in the run-in, Arsenal’s 10 straight wins ensured they won the league title with a 4-0 thrashing of Everton at Highbury.
In the FA Cup, Arsenal reached the final, where they played Newcastle Utd. In truth, they were modest opponents, and the Gunners won the game comfortably 2-0, with Anelka and Overmars sealing the double. This was the first Gunners team to win the Premiership, and they did it with a good mix of English and foreign players.
Arsenal’s most recent double-winning team was perhaps their best. Admittedly, this Gunners team had the fewest English players, but they played some excellent soccer. Key players for this team included Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, and Robert Pires, who would score many goals for the side. Arsenal’s form was fantastic in the run-in, and they remained unbeaten away from home all season. A 1-0 victory at Old Trafford sealed the title for the Gunners.
In the end, Arsenal won the title with 87 points, losing just three games all season, and were seven points ahead of second-placed Liverpool. In the FA Cup, the Gunners played Chelsea, and a great goal from Ljunberg won the game 2-0. Overall, this was Arsenal’s third double and their best-ever team (in many fans’ opinion).
There can be little doubt that the current 2025 Arsenal team has trophy-winning potential. Mikel Arteta’s men have finished second in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons. A run to the 2025 Champions League semi-final showed the Gunners are now among the top teams in Europe again.
Yet, Arsenal hasn’t won a trophy in five seasons now, and some of the Gunners’ faithful are starting to doubt whether Arteta will lead them to further glory. For all the progress Arsenal have made in recent seasons, the Gunners still lack a trophy-winning ingredient. That missing ingredient could be an out-and-out striker who consistently bangs in the goals. Scoring nine goals was enough to make Kai Havertz Arsenal’s top-scoring player in 2024/2025.
To put it simply, Arsenal needs a new Henry. Henry was Arsenal’s unstoppable striker, who scored a record number of goals for the club. He was the spearhead of the Gunners’ great 2001/2002 double-winning side. If the club can sign a striker of comparable quality, then this current Gunners team could at least be a title-winning side and maybe even a double-winner.
For now, Arsenal must revel in the glory of its former double-winning teams. Dating back to 1971, their double-winning teams won six trophies for the Gunners and are most probably the best sides in the club’s history. Arsenal has won four FA Cups while playing at the Emirates Stadium, but no further league titles beyond Highbury to date.
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