Off The Record

 

With the current Premier League season reaching its dying embers, the May Day match-up between title rivals Arsenal and Manchester United could be described as history repeating itself. The perennial competitors during the Premier League’s existence have often been the two featured teams jousting for league supremacy. At the very least, their encounters have been critical in deciding the destination of the major honours during seasons past.

The latter may be more of a suitable assessment of their up-coming league encounter at the Emirates Stadium. Depending on when you have read this, mathematically the Gunners could still be crowned champions this season if they got a positive outcome against Manchester United. But with a string of disappointing results, and dropping vital points in the past few weeks in their pursuit of the Old Trafford outfit, Arsenal’s title tilt is seemingly in tatters.

The two teams respective managers in the shape of Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have hardly shared what can be described as a jovial relationship, despite their rivalled association somewhat cooling in recent years. However, what both men share in their many years of competing against each other is their hunger for success.

With that, what a suitable time to ask who has produced the more outstanding achievement during their terms at their respective clubs? Is it Sir Alex Ferguson’s treble winning vintage of 1999, when his team won the Premier League, the FA Cup, and European Champions League? Or is it Wenger’s boys who were not only unbeaten in winning the Premier League in 2004, within this time, they set a new record of going 49 English league games undefeated? A feat that spanned over three seasons which ultimately came to an end by yes you guessed it, Ferguson’s Manchester United through the help of Wayne Rooney. Who's achievement is the daddy of them all?

Personally as a sporting fan I have always been feed that honours, were the epitome of competitive sport. It is what as onlookers we define between first and second, a winner and politely a loser, and what a professional sportsperson aspires to achieve in their respective field. Manchester United’s success saw them chalk up only four defeats during the course of that season in all competitions, which naturally included an unblemished run in the FA Cup.

What is often overlooked is that the Red Devils had no defeats in their European campaign also. A campaign that saw them being pitted against celebrated European heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern Munich twice in the group stage, arguably the leading team on the continent during the late nineties in Juventus, and again Bayern Munich on a third occasion in the final. It should be said that the German team were chasing a treble of the own at that stage going into the European final. So in that respect and the level of opponents that faced them, it is pretty hard to argue a case against labelling this accomplishment more outstanding.

However, the Arsenal case should be considered just as closely. Their unbelievable 49-game unbeaten streak began at the tail end of the 2002-2003 campaign. After a shock home defeat to a Leeds team fighting against relegation, Arsenal’s loss handed the league championship to Manchester United. Arsenal’s brilliant run began in the subsequent match that followed with a 6-1 win at home against Southampton.

On a side note, Arsene Wenger has always been renowned for his team’s sintilating displays during his time at the London club, a status that still stands today despite what some call his current crop being a faltering outfit. However, during that particular season of 2002-2003, I personally feel this was the best expansively performing team Arsene Wenger has ever produced at Arsenal. A factor which led Wenger himself to state at the start of that campaign, his team were capable of going the entire season undefeated. The visionary was laughed at in some quarters at the time, but his bold statement would ultimately be achieved all be it a year later.

Without digressing too much, you could see that Wenger indeed had the confidence in his 2002-2003 squad to create history. With thirteen games in all competitions negated and nine of them in the league that was symbolised with a 4-1 victory away to Leeds, Arsenal were looking good until a trip to Everton when a then sixteen year old upstart named….Wayne Rooney (him again), scored a late winner for Everton and inflicted Arsenal first defeat of the season.

However, the 2003-2004 season was far more promising as the team continued the run from the backend of the previous season, and used it to springboard in securing the league title. Marrying desired league results with attractive football at home, and more pertinently away to difficult grounds such as Old Trafford, White Hart Lane, and Stamford Bridge all in a fashion most football fans like to see in their teams perform at whatever the level. One other club has only achieved ‘Invincible’ status that Arsenal claimed, and this was Preston North End who achieved this feat over 100 years ago. But that time, Preston completed their programme over a much smaller course of 22 fixtures, not the 38-game schedule that is played today.

Many have made arguments against both cases. From a domestic perspective in home competitions were Manchester United pitted against many dangers? Barring Arsenal, it is hard to argue realistically there were many challengers in the Premier League to halt United’s trophy haul like there is today. Chelsea were not of major prominence yet, and the ‘big four’ stable which I like to now call an expanded ‘significant six’ had not been established. Not to mention finance which was a key factor then, as it is now has help to bring many teams year after year complete multiple trophy hauls during a season.

Barcelona achieved the same treble in 2009, and went one further by winning an unprecedented six trophies that they were eligible for during that calendar year. Last year’s Champions League final saw both Inter Milan and Bayern Munich looking to complete a treble after securing a domestic league and cup double. But then it is quite likely more people have scaled Mount Everest compared to walking your residential roof, does it make the task any less challenging?

Some have said Arsenal’s league feat as magnificent as it is, was completed in a slightly less competitive arena than the last two seasons we have had, where any team regardless of status and league position is viably capable of toppling their opponent. But is the level of the fellow top teams better now than it was then? With only six defeats in the whole campaign of 2003-2004, Arsenal by far and away was the best placed team when it came to the business-end of the competitions they did not win.

Perhaps with such a line-up, Arsenal should have made more of their success then acquiring 'only' the league title. With semi-final appearances in the League Cup and FA Cup, but were defeated by Middlesbrough and Manchester United respectively along with disappointment at the quarter-final stage to Chelsea, does this make Manchester United’s achievement that much more exceptional? Or does it highlight how close Arsenal were to running the table and sweeping the board?

Lets be honest, it is quite a tough call either way. It really is a case of different strokes for different folks, and dependant on your persuasion some would favour one feat over another. Despite my first statement that it is always about what you win, in an age where money dictates and results are more important than the manner in which you win, perhaps I edge slightly towards Arsenal’s achievement.

My decision is transient in its nature and does change whenever I assess, and do apologise to United fans, but to achieve success with exquisite style along with substance, it is hard to overlook Arsenal’s feat. You cannot be lucky over the course of 49 competitive games the Premier League is famed for. Cast a look at Manchester United’s ‘Unconvincibles’, and how they tried to emulate the feat in the current season before stalling away to Wolverhampton.

Put it this way, without hesitation I feel the current Barcelona side is the best team I have ever witness. I was not around to see the 1970 Brazilian World Cup winning team which purists deem the best side to ever grace a football pitch. But I think it is the most stubborn of opinions who do not feel we are witnessing history when watching the current Catalan outfit.

With that said, I leave you with this conundrum. How would Fergie’s treble-winners or Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ fare against Josep Guardiola’s Barcelona of today?