Arsenal F.C. season 2003–04

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This page details Arsenal Football Club's 2003–04 season.

[edit] Summary

The 2003–04 Season was an historic one for Arsenal F.C. and English football. For the first time since the Preston North End in 1888–89, a club went the whole league season unbeaten.^[1] Arsenal won the Premier League, but there was disappointment in the cup competitions, as, despite many excellent performances, including a Thierry Henry inspired 5–1 away to Inter Milan,^[2] they lost in all three competitions, to Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinal at Villa Park,^[3] to Chelsea FC in the first all-English UEFA Champions League tie in history, after a dramatic winner by Wayne Bridge won the quarterfinal late on,^[4] and to Bolton Wanderers in the Carling Cup.^[5]

Thierry Henry was the star of the season, with 30 goals in the Premier League alone, and, with the aid of the aforementioned performance in Milan, became arguably the greatest footballer in the world at the time, which was a triumph for coach Arsene Wenger as much as the player himself (Henry placed second in the FIFA World Player of the Year contest, finishing runner-up to Ronaldinho).^[6] Other players such as Freddie Ljungberg, captain Patrick Vieira and attacking midfielder Robert Pires were highly influential.

While the unbeaten run was remarkable, it came down to no little fortune. Early in season, during their away fixture to fierce rivals Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy hit a penalty kick against the crossbar, much to the delight of Martin Keown, who began taunting and barging van Nistelrooy, along with several other players.^[1] The 0–0 draw preserved their unbeaten run, which continued until the same fixture the next season, where van Nistelrooy banished the demons of the previous season with the first goal, a penalty, in a 2–0 win over Arsenal that ended their unbeaten streak.^[7] The team also benefited from a controversial penalty decision against Portsmouth FC, a team that they drew 1–1 against.^[1]

[edit] References

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2003-04 in English football v • d • e Club football International football Domestic leagues Domestic cups European competitions Related to England national team Premier League FA Cup Qualifying Rounds League Cup Champions League Euro 2004 qualifying Group 7 Football League Community Shield Football League Trophy UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup Euro 2004 Group B Football Conference FA Trophy Conference League Cup Sven Goran Eriksson Award winners PFA Award - Thierry Henry Young Player of the Year - Scott Parker FWA Award - Thierry Henry Ballon d'Or - Pavel Nedved FIFA World Player of the Year - Zinedine Zidane Players transferred for over £10 million David Beckham • Hernán Crespo • Damien Duff • Claude Makélélé • Adrian Mutu • Scott Parker • José Antonio Reyes • Cristiano Ronaldo • Louis Saha • Juan Sebastián Verón List of football transfers 2003-04