Rice is the real deal. Nobody is better in the position he plays
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IF IT wasn’t to be on their own patch, they knew where the win would be sweetest.
The home of their biggest rivals.
On April 25, 2004, Arsenal won the Premier League, securing the title with a 2-2 draw away to Tottenham.
They were so dominant that season that the Gunners still had four games to play.
When Arsenal last became champions 20 years ago, the football world was a very different place.
It was the first season for Chelsea after the club had been bought by Roman Abramovich, but it quickly became apparent that Claudio Ranieri wasn’t the man to lead them into a brave new world.
Manchester City were managed by Kevin Keegan. Their main men were the likes of Claudio Reyna, Sylvain Distin, Sun Jihai, Joey Barton, Paolo Wanchope and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
So it was no great surprise that they finished fifth from bottom of the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola? He was still playing, but in the backwater of Qatar with Al-Ahli (inset).
As for Jose Mourinho, at that time, he’d yet to manage outside his native Portugal. And Jurgen Klopp was in his first managerial job with Mainz 05, just missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga.
Tottenham were treading water, finishing 14th under David Pleat, while Mauricio Pochettino was finishing up with Bordeaux, before a playing swansong at Espanyol.
It was Arsenal’s ‘Invincible’ season, finishing unbeaten in the Premier League, and winning the title by 11 points.
That puts into context where the Gunners once were, and where they are now.
Different
When they won three titles in six years under Wenger, the Premier League was effectively a battle between them and Manchester United, with Chelsea just stirring to life in 2004.
Things are very different now. Manchester City are a colossus and aren’t going away any time soon. United aren’t even an afterthought when you consider potential champions in the next few years — unless something unforeseen and incredible happens.
Liverpool will have to get used to life after Klopp — and who knows how that will go? — but there is a talented squad there that will surely be strengthened in the summer.
Arsenal in 2024 aren’t Arsenal in 2004 but they are very good indeed.
With the finishing line so close, it’s hard to imagine City not winning their remaining three games to make history by winning a record fourth Premier League title in a row.
But any analysis that questions Arsenal’s character or a lack of supposed bottle will be bogus.
In 2024, the Gunners have been in what is usually title winning form in the Premier League. They have played 16 games, winning 14 — with one draw and one defeat.
The loss was at the hands of Aston Villa, the draw was with
City. Arsenal have scored 51 goals in those 16 games — an average of nearly three per match.
This, remember, is a team that many feel suffers because they don’t have a world-class striker.
Conceded
At the other end, the Gunners have been equally impressive.
They have conceded only six goals in the League since the turn of the year.
Contrast that with the leakage at Liverpool — one of their rivals in the title race for most of the season.
In April alone, Liverpool conceded nine goals in the League.
The reason I have concentrated on the second half of the season is that is when the pressure really comes on when you are chasing the big prizes — and it proved too much for Arsenal a year ago.
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