Ray Parlour and Sol Campbell, who were part of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' side which went unbeaten in the English Premier League in 2003-04, tell Harish Kotian/Rediff.com why it may be difficult for another English club to replicate that unbelievable feat.
Arsenal legends Ray Parlour and Sol Campbell say it will be difficult for the Gunners to recreate the unbeaten season of 2003-04 in the Premier League, but they could certainly challenge for the title in the coming season provided the club signs up a couple of good players.
Both were part of Arsenal's team that was unbeaten in the 2003-04 English Premier League season and went on to be known as 'The Invincibles'.
"I think it is the personnel. They have lost a lot of players, a lot of transformation was being done with the [Emirates] stadium. The budget wasn’t as high to buy big players but now, certainly, they will need to buy some players. It is very competitive in the Premier League, very tough league. I think it was a great season and the squad they have got now is very good.
"So, hopefully, they may not go unbeaten, but they can certainly challenge the Premier League next year or just to be in with the chance, maybe with five games or four games left, be in with a chance to win the title,” Parlour told Rediff.com on the sidelines of Arsenal’s home and away kit launch in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Campbell, who played 135 games for Arsenal from 2001 to 2006, says the club needs to spend big to sign a world-class player who could make a difference.
“They cannot compete with the world, maybe not spend around 60-70 million on a player, but at the moment at least they could stretch it to the 35-40 million mark and get a good player who could make the difference.
"If you can buy the right player... that is what it is all about. You only need a couple of good players to make a difference, if you can keep them all fit,” he said.
Reliving the unbeaten season, Parlour, 42, said the turning point was the match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, which they drew 0-0 despite playing the last 10 minutes with 10 men after Patrick Vieira got a red card.
In' fact, United got a last minute penalty but Ruud van Nistelrooy was unable to convert and Arsenal never looked back after that narrow escape.
“We had a lot of winners in our team. You need to have a little bit of luck along the way as well. There were so many quality players in the squad that we did get a couple of suspensions and injuries but we had good back-ups. It was a brilliant season. No one expected at the start of the season that we could go unbeaten. In our last 10 games, when the press in England kept saying we are still unbeaten that put a little bit of pressure on us but we could handle that. It was a great season and fantastic one to be involved in,” the former midfielder said.
Campbell said no matter how good a team is, a lot of factors need to fall in place to go unbeaten through a league season.
“Never say never…you never know. Some teams have come close and just fallen by the wayside with a couple of games here and there and they have lost it. That is the difference really because really is so competitive.
"Chelsea were running and riding high and the first game after the Christmas period [last season] they lost and then they lost again. It happens. You got to have a good squad and you got to have all the components right. You also need a bit of the rub of the green but you make your own luck as well. You need all those things added on for it to happen,” he said.
Parlour, who had a 12-year-old career at the North London club with 339 appearances, said the signing of former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech could prove to be vital.
“I would say Cech is a brilliant signing for Arsenal. Sometimes you can end up saving 10 points a season if you have a good goalkeeper. We saw David de Gea; the impact he made last season at Manchester United helped them get to the top four. Arsenal got to believe they can do it.
“It is going to be difficult because you have Man City, who are a top side as well. Manchester United are buying big players, Liverpool have bought a lot of players. It is going to be a very competitive league but they got to believe that they can win one or two trophies. They have been the most consistent team throughout the season. And the injuries as well if they can keep their players fitter during the season, they had a lot of injury problems last year at vital stages, I am sure they can go very close,” he added.
Asked to choose between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both were unanimous in picking the Barcelona midfielder as the best player in the world currently.
“I have always said Messi. Both are terrific players, but just for the way he goes past the players, his record and he is around two or three years younger to Ronaldo. My vote would be Messi.
"I think he is an unbelievable player, fantastic to watch, but Ronaldo is a great player as well,” said Parlour.
Campbell echoed his views. “I will go with Messi because he is an all-round player. He is more for the team and also sometimes he can be selfish and score goals and things like that. I think he is much more of a team player than Ronaldo.
"Ronaldo is an amazing player too, but when it comes to pick between the two you pick the team player.”
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