The most striking component of the
Invincibles side [no pun intended] was their collective attacking ability,
representing the epitome of Arsene Wenger’s footballing philosophy: score first
and ask questions later. Although not quite held to the same high regard, there
was a much-vaunted resilience in that Arsenal team that became a hallmark as
well. While Wenger has managed to achieve some similarly breathtaking attacking
play since then, we have all witnessed a massive decline in that latter
quality.
There is an all too familiar scenario:
a tough road trip after a grueling run of games against the likes of United,
Chelsea, and Liverpool, traveling ‘up norf’ to play on a less than ideal pitch,
towards the end of a long and difficult season. It is the kind of cocktail that
would mean almost certain defeat to recent squads. In 2004, it was the kind of
game that threatened the unbeaten run.
