The Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ of 2004 will always have a special place in the football annals.
Indeed, to go an entire 38-Premier League game season unbeaten may well never be repeated.
Their achievement, despite what some Gunners may tell you, wasn’t quite the achievement that other English clubs have managed (think Treble winners, Premier League and Champions League doubles, back-to-back title triumphs), yet it was an accomplishment which demanded respect.
Now though, everyone connected with Arsenal, management, players and fans alike, crave to be back as England’s number one again.
For that team 21 years ago was the last occasion the North Londoners were top dogs and, after three successive seasons as runners-up, there is impatience at the time it is taking to move from number two to one place.
They were actually this SBOTOP observer’s tip to win the title last season but the narrative changed quickly.
Weakened at a key time in the campaign, firstly by the absences of several key defenders and then by the lack of frontmen at Mikel Arteta’s disposal, proved doubly decisive.
And while being undermined by injuries offers some mitigation, the Gunners did not help themselves by failing to recruit a striker in the January transfer window.
This was always going to be a pivotal summer for Arsenal and the question is: are they ready to end their title drought?
They remain an interesting proposition and striker Viktor Gyokeres is the latest pending arrival in a spending spree for Arteta and his sporting director, Andrea Berta, who have already overseen the arrivals of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (from Chelsea), Martín Zubimendi– the Spanish midfielder who turned down Liverpool last term – from Real Sociedad, Christian Nørgaard (the former the Brentford captain) and Noni Madueke (also from Chelsea) for a combined £118.5 million.
Then there’s Cristhian Mosquera who has travelled to Singapore to link up with the squad on their pre-season tour. The 21-year-old, who represented Spain at this summer’s European Under-21 Championship, has signed a five-year contract with the option of a further year.
All in all, it should mean Arsenal are better protected from a repeat of the injuries that firstly damaged their credentials last autumn and then ended any chance of a recovery in late January/early February.
Gyokeres was a sensation at Sporting Lisbon, scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances. Having signed for £20.5m from Coventry just two years ago, the 27-year-old helped Sporting to the league title in each of his seasons with them – plus the Portuguese Cup in the last one.
If he can replicate that kind of goalscoring form, they will take some stopping.
The recruitment of Madueke was the one that took me by surprise and, by the sounds of it, a number of Arsenal fans were taken aback too.
However, Arteta has proven himself to be an astute judge of player and in the right environment, he has the potential to thrive.
The speed that Madueke fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge is understood to have surprised many in his camp, especially after he made his England debut last year. He scored the first senior hat-trick of his career against Wolves in August but managed only another four goals in the Premier League from a further 26 starts.
I do not expect him to be handed a regular starting XI, at least not to begin with, but he won’t half boost their depth from the bench – not that, in theory, you spend that much money on a substitute.
Arsenal’s first pre-season friendly saw them edge to a 1-0 victory over AC Milan (both teams took part in a penalty shootout after the game which the Rossoneri won 6-5) with Bukayo Saka scoring the only goal – what a boost it would be for the club to have him free of injury for the whole campaign.
And when you think that the likes of Mikel Merino and Leandro may be on the bench rather than obvious starters, it merely highlights the depth of squad Arteta has now assembled.
Watch this space but Arsenal now possess arguably as good a squad as they’ve had in two decades and are primed to deliver tangible Premier League 2025 highlights
When you consider the players they had during and immediately after their ‘Invincibles’ cohort, that is no mean feat.
So, the five reasons Arsenal can win the title in 2025-26:
- A squad with title-winning depth and quality
- A determination to go one better
- Better fortune with injuries
- A proven goalscorer in their ranks
- They are joint favourites with our Premier League 2025 betting odds
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