Arsenal

Arsenal are recognised as one of the giants of English football and a consistent challenger for top honours. Arsenal, under the leadership of enigmatic Frenchman Arsene Wenger, shook off their ‘boring’ image and began to serve up some of the most attractive football in the league. Thanks largely to the immense influence of Tony Adams and more recently the astute signings of players such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, Arsenal have climbed back to the top of the pile. Their rise culminated in a second FA Premier League and FA Cup double in 2002, to add to their 1998 achievement. Three runners-up finishes in the intervening years displays how the North London giants have lived up to their high standards over the last decade. The famous old Arsenal defence has a new look these days, but the replacements, and the recruits to midfield and attack – including talented young Spaniard Jose Reyes – have done enough to assure fans that they can live up to the achievements of their Highbury predecessors. The Gunners added a third Premiership crown of Wenger’s reign as their astonishing and unprecedented unbeaten run throughout the entire 2003-04 league season saw them lift the title.