While it’s a good sign for a healthy Premier League club that Arsenal fans are keener to look forward than relive the team’s past glories, it is interesting to look back at the club’s modern history both for nostalgia and to enable reflection on where the team is today.
Back 20 years ago, we were in the middle of the 2004/5 season. An interesting chapter in Arsenal’s history no doubt. It saw the end of the “Invincibles” run on the 24th October, 2004, with a 2-0 victory for Manchester United stopping the unbeaten record at 49 games.
The season also ended up in an FA Cup Final victory – the club’s 10th – but Wenger’s men could only manage to finish 2nd in the Premier League. As is well known, it was the last Premier League season during which the Gunners fans could call themselves reigning champions. The current Premier League odds suggest it’s possible that could happen again sooner rather than later, yet, for now, it’s a reality that fans have to peer back across two decades.
That season was also the scene of one of the most remarkable games in the history of the North London Derby. A trip to White Hart Lane saw Arsenal come away with three points, five goals scored, and four conceded. The scoreline probably suggested that the game was closer than it was, but Arsenal always looked like winning once they took the lead in a second half that yielded seven goals.
The story pre-game
Arsenal were hurting as they rocked up to White Hart Lane on 13th November. Not only had they lost the unbeaten record to United a few weeks earlier, they had failed to win in the league since that match, drawing with Southampton and Crystal Palace. Those results had knocked Arsenal off top spot, so they came into the derby in 2nd. Spurs, meanwhile, were in turmoil. They had made a ridiculous number of transfers that summer, but a horrid run of results (they had lost five of the previous six) meant that their manager Jacques Santini (remember him?) was given the boot. It meant that new boss Martin Jol’s first game would be the derby. No pressure, Martin.
The match
Arsenal XI: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Cygan, Cole, Ljungberg, Vieira, Fabregas, Reyes, Bergkamp, Henry.
Tottenham XI: Robinson, Pamarot, Naybet, King, Edman, Pedro Mendes, Brown, Carrick, Ziegler, Keane, Defoe.
The game actually started cagey enough, although Spurs were definitely on top in the first half. Lehmann came up with a couple of decent saves to hold Spurs at bay early on. Noureddine Naybet then opened the scoring (the Moroccan’s only goal for Tottenham) after 37 minutes. Spurs threatened again, and Lehmann kept them from doubling their lead before Thierry Henry levelled things up in first-half injury time after a good ball from Lauren.
The second half could not have been more different. A mix-up between Paul Robinson and Ledley King allowed Arsenal to take the lead through a Lauren penalty. A few minutes later, Vieria gave Arsenal a two-goal cushion. The chaotic nature of the match was underlined by Jermaine Defoe’s goal seconds after Viera’s. Ljungberg made it 4-2 after 69 minutes before Ledley King flicked in a free-kick to give Spurs hope, but Pires all but wrapped it up for Arsenal on 81 mins. Spurs sub Frederick Kanoute’s goal was a consolation for Spurs, but it came too late.
The aftermath
Even in hindsight, it’s difficult to say exactly what this game meant for Arsenal. Indeed, it probably said more about the chaos that characterised Spurs in that era more than anything else. The victory wouldn’t heal Arsenal’s wounds – they would draw the next league game at home to lowly West Brom and then lose to Liverpool after that. While it was satisfying, the performance was probably indicative of why Arsenal would not ultimately win the league that season. It was Arsenal’s only win in a stretch of six games, which did enough damage in a season where Jose Mourinho’s new-look Chelsea would march relentlessly to the title. Yet, it was a game that sometimes showed the best – and a little bit of the worst – of Arsenal under peak Arsene Wenger.
I remember that game from television, especially the frustration of not being able to close the game down when we had taken the lead. It seemed that Defoe, in particular, was always likely to score whenever Spurs attacked, so the final whistle was a relief