On 1 January 2001 Charlton Athletic beat Arsenal for first time in 44 years as the club had its first away win since November, winning this match 1-0.
The result meant that Arsenal had played 11 away league games, won two, drawn four, lost five.
The media made much of the result and the sequence, pointing out that Arsenal were a long way from winning anything “because of their awful away form”. For it was noted that not only had they lost to Sunderland away, along with Everton, Leeds and a crushing 4-0 to Liverpool, Arsenal had also lost 4-1 to Spartak Moscow, on their travels, before this 1-0 loss to Charlton.
And there was worse to come, much to the delight of the media, with a 6-1 beating at Old Trafford.
There was relief however on 3 February 2001 as Dennis Bergkamp scored the only goal at Coventry City to give Arsenal a win. It was our first away win since November. The times did not feel particularly wonderful, and yet that opening to 2001 marked (had we but known it) the moment when the world changed.
Within a year there was early talk of Arsenal going through a whole season unbeaten away from home.
Within two years there was talk of Arsenal going a whole season unbeaten home and away. How times do indeed change. I don’t however recall any apologies from those journalists who made fun of Mr Wenger at the time, but then that’s how it goes. Say what you like, except never say sorry.
In 2000/01 Arsenal were FA Cup finalists and second in the league to Manchester United. In 2001/2 Arsenal completed their second double in four years.
It was Sylvain Wiltord who scored the goal on 8 May 2002 away to Manchester United that gave Arsenal both the record of being unbeaten away from home while the four goals against Everton on the last day of the season (when it felt like the whole of the North Bank was about to collapse, as I may have mentioned before!) gave Arsenal the record of being the first team to score in every league game through the season. Bergkamp, Henry and Jeffers scored.
Arsène Wenger however wanted more and made his “shift of power” speech, referring to the move of power away from Manchester United. And on 20 September 2002 Mr Wenger suggested his team could remain the whole season undefeated. Here’s what he said.
“It’s not impossible as AC Milan once did it but I can’t see why it’s so shocking to say it. Do you think Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea don’t dream that as well? They’re exactly the same. They just don’t say it because they’re scared to look ridiculous, but nobody is ridiculous in this job as we know anything can happen.”
At first everything seemed fine and with the beating of Leeds away 4–1 on 26 September 2002 Arsenal then broke the record for scoring in 47 consecutive games, and the record for away league games without defeat (22).
But Arsenal lost to Everton on 19 October 2002, and then at home to Blackburn on 26 October 2002. A 1-2 home defeat to Auxerre on 22 October 2002 sandwiched between these two meant three defeats in senior competitions in a row – the worst run in 19 years.
But as we know, Mr Wenger can do things, and Mr Wenger has a sense of humour. In May 2004, at the end of the Unbeaten Season, he said…
“Somebody threw me a T-shirt after the trophy was presented which read ‘Comical Wenger says we can go the whole season unbeaten.’ I was just a season too early!”
I got one of those t-shirts too. I still have it, and it still brings back such memories…