Arsenal managed to seal two Premier League titles at their rivals’ home stadiums in the space of just three years at the start of the millennium, but one Gunners legend believes securing their status as champions against Manchester United tops doing so against Tottenham.
Heading into the penultimate game of the 2001/02 season against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Arsenal knew that a draw would be enough for them to wrap the Premier League title up. Sylvain Wiltord scored the game’s only goal to ensure Arsenal wrestled back the crown following three-straight years without it, and in doing so humilate their most-competitive foes.
In 2003/04, meanwhile, Arsenal drew 2-2 with Tottenham at White Hart Lane with four games remaining to secure their status as champions, in a season they utlimately ended up completing unbeaten in the league.
Arsenal win at Manchester United better than confirming trophy at Tottenham
Ray Parlour playing in both of those crucial games for Arsenal, but when asked which stadium he preferred winning the Premier League at, he was unequivocal in his answer.
“Old Trafford,” he exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “Tottenham weren’t a great side then, so we expected to at least get the draw we needed. At Old Trafford, you can imagine Sir Alex Ferguson saying to Roy Keane and all of those players, ‘Don’t let this mob beat us to win the league at our own stadium.’
“The title race was still open: if we’d lost that match, they still had a chance to win the league. So it has to be Old Trafford.”
Parlour did make an important contribution to Arsenal’s Invincibles campaign, however, highlighting the magnitude of the achievement in what proved his final season at the club.
“No one expected us to go unbeaten, although Arsene Wenger said the team was capable of it because it wasn’t about the 11 on the pitch – it was about the backup squad,” Parlour says. “When people were injured or suspended, players came in to do a similar job.
“There weren’t a load of injuries; I can’t remember Henry or Bergkamp being out for long periods. Now there are injuries every week – it’s unbelievable. Arsene knew the team could do it and he was giving us a compliment, saying what a great group of players we had, but he probably shouldn’t have said it because it put more pressure on us.
“Every summer, we thought, ‘Can we win the league again?’, but the lads weren’t in the dressing room saying, “We can go unbeaten”. If I knew we would, I would have had a bet on it if I could – it would have been good odds!
“Not many managers would say, ‘This team can go unbeaten’, but then it happened, and it hadn’t happened since the 1800s! You think, ‘F**king hell, this guy is a genius’.”
