Arsenal’s record unbeaten run ended at Old Trafford in a controversial defeat in October 2004, leaving the team shaken. A month later, Chelsea had overtaken them, and Arsenal’s style remained watchable while something had changed. They reached the Champions League final despite a difficult domestic season, finishing eighth at Christmas and later securing a Champions League place on the final day with Thierry Henry’s hat-trick against Wigan. The first Emirates season and Henry’s final year confirmed a transition, with Arsenal never truly in the title race and losing all three cup competitions during an 11-day stretch. Subsequent seasons featured a young core led by Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini, and Emmanuel Adebayor, plus league inconsistency and costly draws and injuries.
"A young, strikingly pint-sized team, built around Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Adebayor, led the Premier League for most of the season only to finish third. Arsenal lost one of their first 30 games, but four successive draws in February and March, the first a harrowing game at Birmingham when Eduardo da Silva suffered an horrific leg-break, ultimately cost them the league."
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]