13 Years Later – Where Are The Invincibles Now?
It’s been thirteen years since Arsenal went undefeated throughout a Premier League season, on their way to lifting the title, in 2003/04. The team, that went on to be called as Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles‘, is one of the finest teams to have graced English football and many believe that it is a feat that is unlikely to be repeated.
Here we take a look at where the stars of the Gunners side that went on to write history currently are.
Jens Lehmann (GK)
It was his first season with the North London club and the mercurial German went on to keep 15 clean sheets that campaign. He left Arsenal for Stuttgart in 2008, but returned to Arsenal in 2011 for a brief stint, following which he hung up his boots. Lehmann was a football pundit in Germany, before returning to Arsenal as a coach.
Lauren (RB)
The Cameroonian spent a trophy-laden six years at Arsenal, before moving on to join Portsmouth in 2006, where he won the FA Cup in 2008. He retired in 2010, after a spell with Spanish side Cordoba and is settled in Seville currently. He occasionally makes appearances as a TV pundit for Spanish football coverage.
Kolo Toure (CB)
One of the most best transfers made by Wenger in his tenure at Arsenal, the Ivorian left the North London outfit in 2009, to join Manchester City and had a stint with Liverpool as well, before joining Celtic where he ended up enjoying another Invincible campaign last season. He is a free agent now and still hopes to carry on playing, while he has also taken up the assistant coach role for the Ivory Coast U-23 team.
Sol Campbell (CB)
One of the best centre-halves in England during his heydays, Campbell left Arsenal in 2006 to move to Portsmouth and won an FA Cup with them, but returned to the Emirates in January 2010. The Englishman joined Newcastle United for the 2010/11 season and announced his retirement after that term. Since then, he has tried his hands at politics, TV punditry, and is currently the assistant manager of Trinidad & Tobago.
Ashley Cole (LB)
Currently the only active player from the 2003/04 team, Cole departed from North London controversially to join Chelsea in 2006, where he enjoyed a successful eight-year stint, winning numerous trophies including Champions League and Europa League. Cole left for AS Roma in 2014 and is plying his trade in MLS with LA Galaxy currently.
Freddie Ljungberg (RM)
The Swede joined Arsenal in 1998 and won 6 trophies with the club, before leaving for West Ham United in 2007. A year later, he moved to MLS side Seattle Sounders and had a spell with Chicago Fire, before returning to Europe in 2011 with Celtic. He tried his hand in Japan with Shimizu L-Pulse and had a contract with Indian Super League side Mumbai City, but withdrew due to injury problems. A brief spell as an academy coach followed, but now he is the assistant manager at Wolfsburg.
Patrick Vieira (CM)
The captain of the Invincibles, Vieira is a legend at Arsenal. The Frenchman left for Juventus in 2005 and joined Inter Milan after the Old Lady got relegated due to the Calciopoli scandal. He ended his career with a stint at Manchester City in 2011 and took the role of being the head of the Citizens’ elite development squad. He is currently the manager of MLS club New York City FC.
Gilberto Silva (CM)
May not be the most decorated players, but the Brazilian was a key cog in the engine room alongside Vieira. He left North London in 2008 for Greek side Panathinaikos before having spells in homeland Brazil, with Gremio and Atletico Mineiro. He announced his retirement in 2015, after being without a club for two years. He is now working as an international consultant for footballers.
Robert Pires (LM)
The stylish Frenchman left Arsenal in 2006 to join La Liga side Villarreal, after his contract ran out. He returned to England with Aston Villa in 2010 and retired only a year later. He came out of retirement to take part in the Indian Super League, where he represented FC Goa, and went onto draw curtains on his career in February 2016. He is currently a coach at Arsenal.
Dennis Bergkamp (SS)
Joining Arsenal in 1995, the Dutchman was one of the most technically gifted players of that era. The things he did with the ball at his feet, it often left the watchers in awe. After 11 years with the Gunners, he retired in 2006, and took up a coaching role at his former club AFC Ajax. He became the assistant manager there under Frank de Boer in 2011 and continues to serve in the same post.
Thierry Henry (ST)
Arsenal’s greatest player ever and one of the greatest to have graced football, Thierry Henry brought an end to a glittering Arsenal career in 2007 when he moved to Barcelona, after becoming the Gunners’ leading ever goal-scorer. He won the treble with the Catalans in 2009, before moving to MLS outfit New York Red Bulls in 2010.
Henry returned on a short-term loan spell to the Emirates in 2012, when he scored in a cup game, sending the fans into a frenzy. Retired in 2014 with Red Bulls, he is currently a TV Pundit and also the assistant manager of the Belgium national team.