Vieira on the feeling of skippering a very special side

Tales from the Invincibles

PATRICK VIEIRA

The captain and driving force of the Invincibles side, Vieira was undoubtedly one of the best players in the world during the early part of the millennium.

2003/04 was Patrick's eighth season with the club – his second as captain - having arrived at roughly the same time as Arsène Wenger in 1996.

By now 27 years old, he was a colossus in the centre of midfield, taking games by the scruff of the neck, leading by example, and often chipping in with crucial goals too. This title was his third at the club, and he was duly voted into the PFA Premiership Team of the Season for the sixth year running, coming third in the overall voting for the FWA Player of the Year.

He would spend one more season at the club, leaving for Juventus after lifting the FA Cup for the fourth time in May 2005 – his final kick for the club was the winning penalty in the shootout.

In all he played 406 appearances for us – enough to place him 19th in the all-time Arsenal appearance list – and also won the FA Cup, European Championships and Confederations Cup with France while with Arsenal.

After leaving he won three league titles for Inter Milan before moving into management, and is now in charge of Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.

We caught up with him recently to take him back to that incredible season.

You had just signed a new contract with us in the summer of 2003, you must have been full of confidence going into the new season?

I remember as a group we were feeling confident, but I don’t think we were arrogant enough to say we would definitely win it. We knew we would be competitive throughout the season, but obviously the only one who thought we could stay unbeaten was Arsène!

Over the years since I had joined, the club had managed to build a really competitive team, with competitive players in every position. So the culture had really built through the years, the team got stronger and stronger, and I felt that going into that season.

how comfortable did you feel at the club by the start of 2003/04?

I felt really at home and the players who were there before made it really easy for me to learn everything about the club. When I arrived the back five was still there – Tony Adams, Martin Keown, David Seaman and the others – so there was no better way for me to understand what it meant to be part of this football club.

I understood what my role and responsibility was when those guys weren’t there anymore, it was to keep alive the values of the football club. I think Arsène managed to bring players who could take responsibility too, and it all resulted in that great season.

The season started with the Community Shield against Manchester United, what do you remember of that match?

Not much to be honest! I remember we were very disappointed to lose, because we wanted to win every game we played. We wanted to make a statement and say that this would be our season. But what I think happened is that losing that game gave us even more motivation to work harder, because we knew that to win the league we’d have to finish above Manchester United, so we needed to improve to beat them.

We had the chance early in the season to play them again, at Old Trafford. When you look back on that afternoon now, 20 years on, what are your main memories?

When I look back at it, and see the images, and also talking to some of their players since then – it all makes me smile! But that game, that day, was all about the competitiveness between the two clubs – between the two sets of fans, and the players. For us, we knew how important that game was if we wanted to stay at the top. And for United, they wanted to stay as the top side in the country.

But at the same time, I believe they were feeling the pressure from Arsenal. Over the past couple of years we were on their toes, so that tension had grown over time. They were always huge games between us. Always really close, and of course difficult to play in.

"the culture had really built through the years, the team got stronger and stronger, and I felt that going into that season"

This particular meeting was one of the most intense. Did you miss all of the late drama though, as you had been sent off by then?

Yes, I had to go to the dressing room when I was sent off, and there wasn’t a screen in there, so I didn’t actually watch the penalty miss. I just knew it was missed of course, from the sounds of the stadium, but I didn’t know how.

I was in there with one of the masseurs, and then all the players came in after the final whistle, so they told me what had happened. Of course I was trying to work out what went on, but then I saw the pictures and watched it back, and I saw the ‘passion’ of Martin and all the details.

What were your emotions when you realised how the team had reacted to your red card and the penalty miss?

The strength of that team and that generation was our togetherness. We went on the field knowing we could back each other. We played some good football at times, of course, but it was not always spectacular. What was spectacular was our competitiveness, our winning mentality and having players who would put their head where others would put their feet.

We were a team that never gave up, because we had players who could win a game from nothing, so that gave the rest of us the belief that we could always score goals.

You missed a few games after that, through suspension, but also picked up an injury in the next game against Newcastle...

Yes, that was not a pleasant time for me. Because of the sending off, the injuries – it was a time that I needed to reflect and try to get back as soon as possible. I wanted to stay around the team at the training ground, because not being on the field with them gave me a lot of frustration. But when we talk about the Invincibles team, it’s not just 11 players we are talking about. It was 16, 17, 18 players who all stepped in and brought something to the table for the team.

Edu for example, every time he played, was really good for us. We never saw him as a number 12, he was part of the line up because we had different options. The squad was full of quality, but I’d say the number one quality among that group was the mental strength to believe we would always get back into a game. We knew that Thierry would do something to score. We knew that Dennis would create something from nowhere. That was our huge strength.

What are your memories of the title- clinching game at White Hart Lane?

To be honest, we were thinking that if we had the chance to play for the title at White Hart Lane, then we saw it as a destiny. To have the chance to win the title, at the home of Tottenham? There can be no better sweetness! So it was a chance that we had to take.

We couldn’t think of any alternative, because that opportunity was too sweet, too good, to let it pass. We knew if we won it there, it would be something that the fans would never, ever forget. Both sets of fans!

"when we talk about the Invincibles, it’s not just 11 players. It was 16, 17, 18 players who all stepped in and brought something to the table"

If there were any nerves at kick-off, your goal after just three minutes would have relieved them...

Yes, but to be honest with you, I don’t remember any type of pressure like that. It was just a feeling of excitement, to do it that day, at Spurs, in front of their fans. So the confidence was very high to do it. Then it’s about taking the opportunity, and we couldn’t imagine not doing that.

How much did you enjoy the celebrations at the final whistle?

Oh we really enjoyed it! We came back out of the dressing room after the game, our fans were still there and we went to celebrate for them, because I believe it’s a once in a lifetime achievement to do that. We wanted to mark that moment properly.

Was it difficult to maintain focus for those last few games, knowing the league was already won?

No, it was down to us as a group of players to ensure that. Winning the title had been an obsession for us, and when it was done, Arsène put the next challenge on the table for us. He asked us whether we wanted to achieve something special now. The momentum was there, the confidence was there, the quality and the competitiveness. So as a group we were still stimulated, we knew we could do something special. So we put our energy together and we managed to remain unbeaten.

What I loved about that is that when you are trying to win something, there is always someone who thinks they can win it by themselves. A game, a final or whatever. But for this, we needed to keep our togetherness, our work ethic and play for each other. We managed to put the team before the individual egos and that allowed us to express ourselves and achieve something as a team. It was a real team achievement, the spirit and togetherness made this group unique.

But it was also fitting that you, as captain, scored the winning goal on the final day against Leicester...

That was a celebration for us all. We shared in that happiness to achieve something like we did collectively. It was an unbelievable feeling, and as captain, seeing the team achieve something like that, it’s a very proud moment. The atmosphere at Highbury that day will be forever in my memory. You play the game for those kind of moments. It’s not always like that, so when those moments do arrive, you want to embrace it fully.

Did you realise at the time how big the achievement was?

No, you don’t realise how special it is. Only now we are realising, because it’s been 20 years. It might be another 15 or 20 years until it happens again. It will happen one day. How, when, I don’t know, but it will happen.

It’s an unbelievable achievement, and we are all very proud to have been a part of it. I’ve played for some big clubs, and now being a manager, I know there are always games when you are less concentrated, or make a mistake, or are just unlucky. But you can always lose a game, then lose belief and lose two or three games minimum in the season. So that generation of players we had, we should be very proud. We are still in touch, we have a group chat and when we can we meet up too. When you achieve something like that, it’s for life.

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Invincibles

Invincibles This Week: Undefeated season completed

Arsenal celebrate winning the Premier League in 2003/04

Each week, we've been reminiscing about our incredible Invincible season 20 years on by looking back at what was going on at the club on and off the pitch, as well as remembering key news stories and the pop culture buzz at the time.

Last week, we edged past Fulham to set up a showdown with Leicester City at Highbury - the final hurdle in our league campaign with a place in history on the line.

Setting the scene

The Arsenal players applaud the crowd before playing Leicester in 2004

After 37 matches, Arsene Wenger's Gunners had still yet to taste league defeat during 2003/04, and while the championship party was guaranteed to begin following Leicester City's visit, would it be one that saw us also celebrating a historic unbeaten season?

Standing in our way were the Foxes, already relegated alongside Leeds United and Wolves. However, they had earned a 1-1 draw when we visited the Walkers Stadium and with nothing to lose, were looking to end a disappointing campaign by claiming their biggest scalp of the season.

Wenger’s words

Arsene Wenger during training

In his programme notes, the boss was hoping he could lift the Premier League trophy with no regrets: “We are so close now that we really want to do it. If we do complete an unbeaten season then I believe that's an achievement that would live with these players and with this club forever. Certainly it's something that has never been achieved in modern football in this country.

“We have the trophy presentation to look forward to after the final whistle. The moment you have that trophy in your hands is the moment, perhaps the only moment in the whole season, where you can fully relax and enjoy the triumph.

“In that minute you get what you have striven for the whole season, to get your hands on the trophy is a great satisfaction. It's the reward for the season's efforts - the highs, the lows, the doubts.”

From the changing room

Ray Parlour in 2004

As Ray Parlour celebrated his third league title with the club, he admitted this success had the potential to be the best. “If we break that record, it will be very tough for anyone to match in the future,” he said. “I'm sure it will be a good few years until someone could do it again.

“People have only got to say that it hasn't been done in the last couple of centuries for them to realise. It's unique for us - you are not going to get the opportunity to do this again. The players definitely know this is our big chance to make history, and however long you play, you may never get this chance again.

“It's well worth doing, there's a big prize at the end of it. They are all special, but the little bit extra this season was to win while still unbeaten, that's just fantastic.”

On the pitch

GAME 38: ARSENAL 2-1 LEICESTER CITY
May 15, 2004

Victory over Leicester saw us go down in football folklore as being only the second team in British history to last an entire season unbeaten. Preston North End completed this amazing feat in 1889 and this win ensured we could also call ourselves 'The Invincibles'.

With Leicester already relegated, the outcome of this match was seen by many to be a foregone conclusion, however Micky Adams' men were not the pushovers that some may have thought they would be. In fact, Paul Dickov threatened to spoil our party with his, and the game's opening goal, in the 25th minute. A Frank Sinclair cross found the former Gunner in the box and he headed past an outstretched Jens Lehmann.

The remainder of the first half saw no change in the scoreline and we went into the interval one goal behind, and the possibility of claiming the unbeaten record looked in the balance.

Thankfully, we came out for the second half with renewed vigour, equalising within two minutes of the restart. Ashley Cole was bundled over in the area by Sinclair and Thierry Henry restored parity with a well-taken strike from the penalty spot.

From then on, our supporters could relax a little knowing that the Foxes would have to push forward and hope we could take advantage of the subsequent space provided and 20 minutes later Patrick Vieira put us into the record books, converting an exquisite Dennis Bergkamp pass.

At the final whistle, the ground erupted to the tune of a new chant: "we are unbeatable", and for those in the know it was fitting that the first match ever played at Highbury mirrored the afternoon's record-breaking scoreline - a 2-1 win over Leicester.

Line-up: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg (Keown 87), Gilberto, Vieira, Pires (Edu 70), Bergkamp (Reyes 82), Henry. Subs not used: Stack, Parlour.

Where we stood

  P W D L F A Pts
Arsenal 38 26 12 0 73 26 90
Chelsea 38 24 7 7 67 30 79
Man Utd 38 23 6 9 64 35 75
Liverpool 38 16 12 10 55 37 60
Newcastle 38 13 17 8 52 40 56

What the press said

League Champions 2003/04

"Invincible... unbeatable... immortal. Call them what you will, but you may never see their like again."  - News of the World

"When the superlatives have been exhausted, all that's left are the cold, hard facts which mean little to the romantics." - The People

"Now the dictionaries have had to be ransacked for new words of homage. The Immortals? The Invincibles? The Untouchables? That was Arsenal's preferred option - but take your pick to re-christen these extraordinary Gunners."  - Sunday Express

Elsewhere this week

The bus parade following our 2003/04 Premier League win

The following day, the players embarked on an open-topped bus parade through the streets of Islington finishing at the Town Hall, with thousands of Gooners lining the route.

Arsene Wenger was named the Premier League Manager of the Year, as well as scooped the League Managers Association award.

The Premier League announced that a special one-off trophy would be commissioned for the club to mark our undefeated season.

Image of the week

David Beckham and Martin Keown

After bringing the curtain down on his Gunners career, two days after the Leicester game Martin Keown was handed a testimonial against an England XI, containing David Beckham, John Terry, Joe Cole, Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole and Paul Gascoigne. Beckham defied Real Madrid's orders by playing for three minutes despite being instructed not to. 

Keown's former teammates Lee Dixon, Ian Wright and Marc Overmars starred for the Gunners who ran out 6-0 victors, with Jose Antonio Reyes netting a hat-trick and Keown seeing a penalty and the subsequent rebound saved by Robert Green.

UK number ones

Official top 40: Don’t Want You Back - Eamon (fourth week at no. 1)
Album chart: Greatest Hits - Guns ‘N’ Roses (third week at no. 1)
Box office: Van Helsing (second week at no. 1)

In the news this week

Nelson Mandela with the World Cup trophy

South Africa became the first African country to be awarded hosting duties of the 2010 World Cup, holding off the challenge of Morocco.

Fathers 4 Justice stage a protest in the House of Commons at Prime Minister's Questions by throwing purple powder at Tony Blair.

A UK version of the popular US TV series The Apprentice is confirmed, with Amstrad founder and former Tottenham chairman Sir Alan Sugar as the main judge. 

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