Just a mention of the 2007/08 campaign is enough to elicit a rueful shake of the head from Tomas Rosicky.
The former Czech midfielder was a key member of the Arsenal squad that were clear at the top of the table in February, only to end up finishing third.
Rosicky - who will be back in north London as Arsenal Legends take on Real Madrid - was injured in January 2008 and missed the rest of the season, but could only watch on as our title bid was derailed.
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"Absolutely [that was the season that got away]," he told Arsenal Player. "The majority of the players felt that we could actually do it.
"Obviously after the stuff that happened with injuries the whole squad couldn’t cope with it because it wasn’t so big, but that side had everything that a winning team needs.
"We had experience at the back with Gallas and Kolo Toure, then young full backs with Gael Clichy and Bac Sagna or Eboue. It was a great mixture of guys and obviously there were weaknesses – we conceded too many goals from set pieces because we were small!
"But the nature of the team was very healthy, so it’s a shame that in the end we couldn’t win the title.
"It was a joy to play with these guys because we were on the same wavelength and we liked the same kind of football," he added.
"Not only with the midfield that we had, but up front was Robin who started to grow because Thierry left, so he started to score a lot of goals and I will repeat myself that it was so much fun to play with these guys and to play this kind of football. It was just a shame that we couldn’t stay together longer."
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