Patrick Vieira said five of Mikel Arteta’s current Arsenal side would get into the club’s 2003/04 Invincibles team, including David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice. The former captain made the call after Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 on Monday night, a result that moved them five points clear of second-placed Manchester City with City still holding a game in hand.
Vieira said Raya would replace Jens Lehmann in goal, Timber could take the right-back spot, and Gabriel would come in for Kolo Toure while Sol Campbell stayed. He also backed Saka to edge Freddie Ljungberg on the right and said Rice would displace Gilberto, leaving Robert Pires untouched on the left. The rest of the side, he said, would stay as it was.
Arsenal’s Invincibles went through the 2003/04 Premier League season unbeaten, finishing with 26 wins and 12 draws. That team has remained the standard by which every modern Arsenal side is judged, and Vieira’s answer came as Arteta’s team continues to chase the club’s first league title since that run.
Burnley made the latest step harder than the scoreline suggests. Arsenal won through a Kai Havertz header in the 36th minute, but Arteta said he was left wanting more from the first half after his side created enough to build a stronger lead. “I’m so happy with the result,” he said. “In the first half, we played probably some of the best football that we have all season. We were really unfortunate not to score two or three goals and make the gap bigger – we missed some big chances.”
Arteta added that Burnley’s setup made the night uncomfortable. “Burnley set up in an incredible way, they showed incredible speed to play with that energy and that belief, and anything can happen,” he said. “But then the team showed what they showed all season, an incredible resilience, maturity and composure to hold onto that result and keep a clean sheet.”
The gap at the top matters now because Arsenal are trying to turn pressure into a title finish with City breathing behind them. Arteta said, “When it’s in our hands, these are the things we have to master and we’ve done it tonight. One more to go.”
Vieira also gave Arteta credit for the broader rebuild, saying he had done “a really good job” taking the team from “a couple of years ago” to where it is now. He added that Arsene Wenger would be his manager in a combined side because Wenger brought Vieira and Thierry Henry in on “really good deals,” a reminder that even in this debate, Arsenal’s past still sets the terms for the present.
