Arsenal are the champions of England again and also favorites to retain the Premier League crown this season. There have been 14 title-winning Arsenal sides in history, and only Liverpool and Manchester Utd have won more leagues in English soccer. So, these are happy days for the Gunners, but how does the current Arsenal team stack up to its title-winning predecessors? These are the best Arsenal title-winning teams in history.
The Invincibles team of 2004 is the benchmark for all other Arsenal sides. This is the only team in English soccer history to have won the league without losing a game. It ran away with the Premier League title by amassing 90 points on the board, which is the highest points-per-game average for an Arsenal side. This Arsenal title-winning side was one of pace, power, and technical perfection, with great Gunners players like Henry, Bergkamp, Ljungberg, Pires, and Viera. It was a devastating counter-attacking side that blew the Premier League away.
This 2002 Arsenal title-winning team played some beautiful attacking soccer and won the league at Old Trafford without losing an away game. It also completed a league and FA Cup double with a 2-0 victory against Chelsea in the final. Wenger boasted that Arsenal could go a season unbeaten thereafter, which turned out to be true with a slightly refined 2004 side. This 2002 team shared the same core group of key players as the 2004 side. It had a few more veteran players like Seaman in goal and Adams in defence.
The 1971 Arsenal team made history for the Gunners by securing the club’s first double. It was a team of grit, determination, and exceptional fitness inspired by Charlie George and captained by Frank McLintock. This Arsenal side won the league title with 65 points (which would amount to 94 in the three-points era) across 42 games. What made this triumph all the sweeter was that Arsenal clinched the title at White Hart Lane before George sealed the double with an extra-time goal in the FA Cup final against Liverpool.
The Wenger revolution at Arsenal truly began when he led the Gunners to a league and cup double in 1998. A mid-season slump in form left Arsenal with much to do. The Gunners surged past Manchester United with a relentless 10-match winning streak in the final 12 games to lift the title. The Gunners completed the double with a 2-0 victory against Newcastle United in the FA Cup final.
This Arsenal title-winning team had a great mix of English grit and foreign flair, with the gritty defensive steel of Graham’s legendary back four and Bergkamp, Overmars, Viera, Petit, and Anelka in attack and midfield. Bergkamp was the attacking heart of this Gunners side, but the Dutch winger Overmars also scored some crucial goals. Thus, it was an Arsenal side that mixed some of the best English players from the George Graham generation with foreign stars of the Wenger era.
The 1991 Arsenal title-winning team represented the pinnacle of the George Graham era. The Gunners had an almost impenetrable back four of Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould, and Nigel Winterburn, with Seaman in goal. That defence conceded only 18 goals, with Arsenal losing just one match in the season. Arsenal won the league with 83 points, but two were deducted for a brawl against Manchester United. It was an almost invincible title-winning side that showed legendary defences win leagues.
It is admittedly quite hard to compare this great 1930s Arsenal side with the Premier League ones because there isn’t any retro footage of it in action! This was a breathtaking and revolutionary soccer team of its era that had a profound impact on English soccer with Herbert Chapman’s pioneering WM formation. This Arsenal title-winning side scored a staggering 127 goals to win the league, a record number for a Gunners side, with Cliff Bastin and Ted Drake especially prolific. So, this must have been a thrilling side to watch, and it was the team that established Arsenal as a major force in the English game.
If I were to expand this ranking with another team, I would include Arteta’s boys as the seventh best Arsenal title-winning side. The current Arsenal team doesn’t quite have the same attacking panache as Wenger’s best sides, and it isn’t necessarily stronger at the back than the 1971 and 1991 teams. Not one of the forward players in this current Gunners side is necessarily among the best in Arsenal’s history. This current Arsenal team could be one of the greatest in the club’s history with a bit more attacking power.
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