Gunners: undefeated and jubilant!

Arsenal simply unbeatable

14 April 2012

By the time Arsenal's players finally emerged from a jubilant dressing- room, Highbury was hosting a game with rather more riding on it than a mere place in history.

Arsenal's ladies were playing their rivals from Fulham in a contest that would determine the outcome of their own title race.

Their millionaire equivalents were fascinated. Patrick Vieira noted the talent of the gifted Rachel Yankey, Thierry Henry stopped in mid-sentence when a shot whistled over the Fulham crossbar and Sol Campbell took a seat among the crowd in the stand.

When Vieira was then asked what it is about Arsenal that keeps the club safe from the threat of Roman Abramovich's billions, that keeps him, Henry and Arsene Wenger beyond the reach of Real Madrid, that makes the 'untouchables' untouchable, he spoke of the kind of camaraderie that was being displayed here with such spontaneity.

The ladies were wearing the Arsenal strip and were therefore worthy of their support.

'We are all part of this club and from the directors' box to the staff we all love this club,' said Vieira. 'When the players walk on the pitch, they love the club because they have been here a long time. They know what it means to play for Arsenal.

'We may not have the money of Chelsea or Manchester United but on the pitch we have players who will fight for the club. You don't build a team in one year. Players have to know each other. They have to live together, because it means when you are going through a difficult period you stay together.'

Henry considered the same question. 'It's something I can't explain,' he said. 'But there is a tremendous passion here, and the fans are amazing. That's not something you can just walk away from. After everything the club has done for me, I certainly won't be walking away, although it helps that I'm not playing in a bad team.

'Elsewhere, you see players spending two or three years there and two or three here. We all want to stay because what we have here is good. Patrick says it's now time for us to win the European Cup and we are all with him.'

Here is the reason why Arsenal's invincibles can continue to dominate the English game for the next few years. Not only do they have the best players in Henry, Vieira and Campbell, and the most coveted manager in Europe in Wenger, but they also have a spirit and a unity not currently evident among their chief rivals.

At United, talk of Ruud van Nistelrooy leaving for Madrid suggests that Sir Alex Ferguson's influence is diminishing. In the past, even with David Beckham last year, he has decided when a player has overstayed his welcome at Old Trafford. If Van Nistelrooy goes, and what a disaster for United that would be, he will be the first to do so against Ferguson's wishes.

Yesterday, in an interview with the Sunday Times, Ferguson resorted to a flagrant flirtation with Liverpool's Steven Gerrard. He admitted that luring the Anfield skipper away from Merseyside was likely to prove impossible. It smacked of desperation.

At Chelsea, there appears an extraordinary lack of foresight that could see them lose their answer to Vieira. According to Frank Lampard's-agent, the Stamford Bridge hierarchy are not prepared to meet their demands for financial parity with the club's highest paid - for the most part overpaid - players. Rejecting Lampard's request amounts to madness.

Within the Highbury dressingroom, dissenting voices are rare, with those who do dare to shatter the harmony dealt with rapidly. No sooner did Sylvain Wiltord make it clear he would not be signing a new contract than he was banished to the fringes of the squad. He has been there ever since.

Arsenal survived an entire Premiership campaign without losing a game because of that belief in the collective, because of their ability to fight together as well as play the most beautiful football together.

At Highbury on Saturday, Paul Dickov's first-half goal gave Arsenal supporters something of a fright. In the Press box one colleague compared it to Don Bradman's final Test innings. Four runs would have given him an average of 100. He was out for a duck.

'Immortality can always be assured by spectacular error,' said the American economist, JK Galbraith, and for a while it did seem Arsenal might achieve eternal life for reasons Wenger had not anticipated. Losing to the already relegated Leicester would have ended an incredible season with a most unexpected twist.

As it was, Henry's second-half penalty and a super goal from Vieira, courtesy of a wonderful ball from Dennis Bergkamp, ensured that history was made. Played 38, won 26, drew 12, lost none. United lost on nine occasions, Chelsea lost on seven. The margin of superiority was massive.

The sight of Jens Lehmann marching along the touchline with the trophy might have concerned some observers. After all, it was not exactly in the safest pair of hands. But as the rest of the team slowly filtered past, all of them wearing their championship medals, there was an overwhelming sense of how excited they all are about the future. The victory parade was yesterday. Today they look only ahead.

Wenger plans to take a holiday this summer but he will not be taking his eye off matters Arsenal.

'You never relax completely,' he said. 'There are players' contracts to extend and talks start tomorrow. We have to keep everybody together and prepare for next season.'

At Arsenal, the future is as bright as the steel cranes that were glistening in the evening sunshine above Ashburton Grove. Outside the marble halls, children were scrounging for the match programmes that have already become collectors' items. Inside there was a mighty roar as Arsenal's ladies scored the opening goal in a 3-1 win. Unbeaten in their 17 games since Christmas, they too were crowned champions on Saturday night.

At Arsenal, a club with what seems an unbreakable bond, nobody would have been more delighted for them than Wenger's untouchables.

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