Wenger - Don't forget Invincible defence

Arsene Wenger does not think the 'Invincibles' defence gets the credit it deserves.

Arsenal's back four is back in the headlines after shutting out Liverpool's 'SAS' strikeforce of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge last weekend and keeping a highly-rated Borussia Dortmund attack at bay on Wednesday night.

The excellence of Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and company prompted questions at Wenger's pre-match press conference about the Frenchman's best defences since he arrived at Arsenal in 1996.

Wenger inherited the famous Back Four of Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn but he believes the 'Invincibles' quartet of 2003/04 - which conceded just 26 goals in 38 games - gets unfairly overlooked.

"People always speak of the defence I inherited when I arrived here, it was an exceptional defence and a bit similar to now," said Wenger. "Adams and Bould were similar and Keown was a bit different. On the flanks I had two real resilient, tough, intelligent English full backs.

"But after that people forget a lot about the defence that was unbeaten. They never speak about that and it’s unbelievable that that defence never gets any credit.

"It was Lauren, Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. They were absolutely exceptional. They didn’t lose a game and yet no-one speaks about them.

"It was a more powerful centre than it is today because Kolo and Sol were absolutely both very pacy players with unbelievable physical power. When a striker went beyond any of them you knew they would come back and catch them up. They were less calculating but much more physical.

"On the flanks we had two more footballing players because Lauren was a midfielder and Cole has made a fantastic career because he is a great player."