On May 15, 2004, Arsenal entered the final match of the 2003/04 season in the Premier League. At that time, the Gunners won the championship 3 rounds early. However, coach Arsene Wenger and his team still have one goal. That is to complete the season with an unbeaten record in all 38 matches.
Only facing the officially relegated team, Leicester City, the London team easily won with a score of 2-1. This victory helped them close the season with 90 points, including 26 wins and 12 draws.
18 years have passed, and today’s Arsenal has also changed a lot. How many names do you remember in the Gunners ‘ invincible squad ?
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Getty/GoalLauren
Lauren stayed with Arsenal for about 7 years, from 2000 to 2007. He then joined Portsmouth, where he spent the next two seasons, before moving to Cordoba and retiring in 2010.
Lauren is currently Arsenal’s ambassador to Africa.
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Colonel Toure
Toure played football at Arsenal from 2002 to 2009. He then moved on to play for Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic, before retiring in 2017.
Immediately after retiring from his football career, Toure joined the coaching staff of U23 Ivory Coast. In September 2017, he became assistant to Brendan Rodgers at Celtic. After Rodgers moved to Leicester City in 2019, Toure followed this coach and returned to the Premier League in a new role.
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Getty ImagesSol Campbell
The English midfielder joined Arsenal in 2001 from fellow city team Tottenham Hotspur. He spent 5 seasons playing for the Gunners , before moving to Portsmouth and Notts County FC.
By early 2010, Campbell returned to Emirates but only stayed with this team for half a year. Then he chose Newcastle United as the final stop in his career.
After retiring in 2011, the former player born in 1974 turned to coaching. He worked as an assistant coach at Trinidad & Tobago before becoming captain of Macclesfield Town Club.
In October 2019, Campbell joined League One team, Southen United – where he worked as head coach until June 2020.
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GettyMartin Keown
English midfielder played for Arsenal in two periods, 1984-1986 and 1993-2004. In addition to the Gunners , Martin Keown also played with a few other clubs such as Brighton, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Reading and Wembley, before retiring in 2012.
Currently, Keown is working as a scout for the London football team.
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GettyPascal Cygan
The French midfielder played at Arsenal from 2002 to 2006. He then moved to Villarreal and Cartagena. In July 2011, Cygan decided to break up his shorts career.
Currently, the former Arsenal star is serving as coach of the U18 team Royal Excel Mouscron (Belgium).
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Getty ImagesAshley Cole
Ashley Cole grew up in Arsenal’s youth academy. He was promoted to the first team and debuted in the Premier League in 1999. Cole stayed with the Gunners until 2006, then moved to play for the same city team Chelsea.
He played football for Stamford Bridge for 8 seasons and then went through AS Roma and LA Galaxy, before choosing Derby County as the final stop in his career.
After retiring, Ashley Cole turned to coaching. Currently, he is serving as Chelsea’s youth team coach, and is also Lee Carsley’s assistant at the England U21 Team.
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Getty ImagesGael Clichy
Gael Clichy was with Arsenal for eight seasons before moving to Manchester City in 2011. In 2017, he left Etihad to join Istanbul Basaksehir, where he spent three seasons.
Since 2020, Clichy has joined Servette FC, a team playing in the Swiss National Championship.
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Getty ImagesGilbert Silva
The former Brazil international joined Arsenal in 2002 and played here for six seasons. He then returned to his hometown to play for clubs such as Panathinaikos, Gremio and Atletico Mineiro before retiring in 2013.
Gilberto Silva joined Panathinaikos as the team’s technical director in May 2016, but only stayed with the job for more than half a year. Silva currently runs a football consulting company and is the representative of midfielder Fred.
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GettyPatrick Vieira
The legendary French midfielder played at Arsenal for 9 seasons from 1996 to 2005. He then moved to Juventus, Inter Milan and finally retired at Manchester City.
After retiring, Vieira was appointed coach of New York City FC – a team competing in the American professional tournament MLS. He worked for two seasons before taking over Ligue 1 side Nice as head coach.
Currently, Patrick Vieira is starting a coaching job at Crystal Palace.
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Getty ImagesEdu
Eduardo Gaspar joined Arsenal in 2001 and played at this club for 4 years, then moved to Valencia and Corinthians respectively. In 2010, the Brazilian midfielder decided to retire from his football career.
After retiring, Edu became director of football (DOF) at Corinthians. He also worked for Iran’s coaching staff at the 2014 World Cup.
Since 2019, Edu returned to Arsenal and held the role of technical director of this team.
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GettyRay Parlour
Ray Parlor is a mature product of the Arsenal academy. He played for the Gunners for 12 years, then moved to Middlesbrough and Hull City, before retiring in 2007, when he turned 34.
Recently, Parlor stood out as a commentator for Sky Sports.
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Getty ImagesFreddie Ljungberg
Freddie Ljungberg played for Arsenal for 9 seasons from 1998 to 2007. Then, he moved to play for Chicago Fire in MLS and Celtic Club (Scotland). Like his former teammate Robert Pires, the midfielder retired after playing in the first season of the ISL for Mumbai City FC.
During his coaching career, Ljungberg has sat as head coach of Arsenal’s U15 and U23 teams. He also worked at Wolfsburg as an assistant coach.
In December 2019, Ljungberg took over as interim head coach of Arsenal after Unai Emery left the club. He sat in the hot seat at the Emirates until Mikel Arteta was appointed as the official coach in early 2020.
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Getty ImagesRobert Pires
The French winger played at the North London club for six seasons between 2000 and 2006. He then played for Villarreal and Aston Villa. Pires retired from professional football after playing for FC Goa in the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) season.
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Getty ImagesDennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp is one of the greatest players in Arsenal history. He stayed with this team for 11 years and won 3 Premier League championships.
Before Arsenal, the “flying Dutchman” also played for a few other famous teams such as Inter Milan or Ajax. In 2006, he officially retired from his football career at the age of 37.
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GettyThierry Henry
Thierry Henry is a legend of the French national team as well as the Arsenal club. He had two periods with the Gunners , from 1999 to 2007 and played on loan in 2012. In 2014, Henry retired from his football career after spending 4 seasons with the New York Redbulls – the football team. competes in the American professional tournament MLS.
After retiring, Henry turned to coaching. He joined the Belgian national team as an assistant coach in 2016 and worked for 2 years. By 2018, the “son of the wind” sat in the hot seat of AS Monaco but only remained in position for one season, before taking the position of head coach of Montreal Impact.
In 2021, he returned to the Belgian national team and worked as an assistant to Roberto Martinez at Euro 2020.
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Getty ImagesJeremie Aliadiere
The French striker played at Arsenal from 2001 to 2007. During that time, he had three loan spells at Celtic, West Ham United and Wolverhampton. Leaving Emirates, Jeremie Aliadiere went through a few teams in different countries and retired from professional football in 2016.
Currently, he is living in London and working for Arsenal’s media channel.
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Getty ImagesNwankwo Kanu
The legendary Nigerian striker joined Arsenal in 1999, after playing for several clubs such as Ajax or Inter Milan. He stayed with the Emirates Stadium team for 5 years before joining West Bromwich.
In 2012, Nwankwo Kanu decided to retire after spending the last two seasons of his career at Portsmouth.
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Getty ImagesSylvain Wiltord
The French striker played at Arsenal for four seasons then returned to France and played for several Ligue 1 clubs such as Lyon, Rennes, Marseille, Metz and Nantes. By 2012, Wiltord decided to leave the field.
Currently, Sylvain Wiltord works as a sports consultant.
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Getty ImagesJose Antonio Reyes
The late midfielder Jose Antonio Reyes was with Arsenal for 3 seasons from 2004 to 2007. In addition to playing in the Premier League, he also played for top Spanish teams such as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Seville.
In June 2019, Reyes died in a car accident.
