From the Invincibles to the Improbables

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From the Invincibles to the Improbables

From the Invincibles to the Improbables.
Emirates Stadium

Back in 2003-04, Arsenal achieved what many considered to be impossible. Given the collective standard of teams in the Premier League, to even think about going an entire campaign unbeaten was ambitious in the extreme.

How - with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool et al to contend with - can you seriously expect to navigate a minefield of 38 gruelling contests without suffering the odd stumble along the way?

Arsenal managed that, with 90 points collected from 26 victories and 12 draws. Teams have bettered that haul since, but none have crossed the finishing line with an unblemished record intact.

Dominance

The Gunners would have been hoping to kick on from that point, establishing the kind of dominance enjoyed by arch-rivals from Old Trafford, but historic achievements would be as good as things got in north London for the best part of 20 years.

A long wait to scale such heights again may be coming to a close, though, with the football forecast looking bright for Arsenal once more, who are currently priced at 5/6 to win the Premier League title this season. It has taken some time for dark clouds to lift over Emirates Stadium, but chinks of light are now streaming through.

Mikel Arteta, who once captained the Gunners under the guidance of title-winning coach Arsene Wenger, is the man to have got Ashburton Grove natives daring to dream once more. Few could have predicted that he would oversee such a turnaround in a relatively short space of time.

While Arsenal remained competitive in the immediate aftermath of that last title triumph, they have found themselves on a slippery slope of late. They have looked anything but contenders for a domestic crown at times, with it being six years since they last graced a Champions League stage.

Arteta has his side racing back towards that European party, with there every chance that they will return in 2023 as the cream of an English footballing crop. There are still plenty of hurdles to clear before that dream becomes reality, but the power of momentum and belief should not be underestimated.

Wenger has said of Arsenal's efforts in the present to emulate his achievements of the past: "[Their chances] won't be more favourable than they are today, so don't let this chance pass us by. I feel as though you win it when you can and when you're not worrying about the rest; you let others talk and you take the title."

Opinion

Plenty have offered an opinion on Arsenal’s class of 2022-23 and whether they can sustain a bid to become the kings of the English top-flight once more. Ultimately, though, all of the outside noise counts for little and it is the words of Arteta and Co inside the Emirates camp that will determine whether they prevail or not.

Few may have seen such a charge coming but where there was once Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira now stands Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey, and a group that could be considered The Improbables are threatening to follow in the illustrious footsteps of The Invincibles.