The invincibles era??? Meaningless question I suppose, but a good way to gauge Wenger's skills at building upon success and evolving the club. Personally, I think not one of the current squad would make the starting 11. Not even cesc. I think it seems we had it all click together for a few seasons and were truly awesome. Shame we didn't win more! If wenger concedes that not 50% of the current crop could usurp that of 10 years ago, he must feel pretty sick for not building on those foundations a bit better. I am. Seems we had a team of unflappable men then, and a team of self-indulgent, self-important kids from fame now. (maybe a bit harsh). Views on the issue??? Thanks, DF
The only current Arsenal player who would have got into that squad is Van Persie. It really shows how much weaker this current side are, and makes you wonder what Wenger was on when he said this was his best ever squad.
you don't just have to consider who is our best player, but who is better at their position than one of the invincibles, and v. Persie, no matter that he's amazing, is not as good as Bergkamp and Henry were. I stick by saying Fabregas and Sagna, because there was a time when Fabregas was told to tackle, when he played in a 4-4-2, and I would argue that Sagna is better at attacking and defending than lauren, who was probably the weakest player in that team.
Sagna would get in and perhaps Walcott over Ljungberg considering the contribution Walcott has given this season despite playing only half of it. The basic squad: (assuming 4-4-2) GK: Lehmann, Szczesny, Fabianski LB: Cole, Clichy CB: Campbell, Toure, Vermaelen, Djourou RB: Sagna, Lauren CM: Vieira, Fabregas, Wilshere, Gilberto, Song LM: Pires, Nasri, Arshavin RM: Ljungberg, Walcott, Wiltord ST: Henry, Bergkamp, Van Persie, Kanu That's a pretty fair evaluation I think. To belittle the our team to say "maybe get into the squad" is unfair. After all, the alternatives are the likes of: Hoyte, Senderos, Aliadiere, Bentley, Jeffers and Stack. If Lehmann had an injury that season we would have been ****ed. I think that our squad now has a lot more depth than the invincibles did, and but for the constant injuries you'd see that.
The Invincibles were a legendary team, but time has moved on and the likes of Utd and Chelsea have strengthened their squads as a result of Arsenal's dominance in the first half of the noughties, to a point where they are now stronger than us. As much as people like to knock this current team, I wonder how the invincibles would get on playing against the likes of the current Utd and Chelsea teams? The standard of football is better now than it was in 2004, so I'm not convinced that we should be negatively comparing the current team with one gone by. It's like saying that the double winning squad of 71 were better than the current team, but you bet that the current team would give that one a pasting by today's standards. (not forgetting that most of that squad are now in their 50's and 60's but you get my drift....)
I'm not sure the standard has risen that much. I think it's fallen in England over the last three years personally. But you're right about it rising over time in general. After all, Cruyff's turn would barely raise an eyebrow nowadays.
You can also see if you watch old clips, teams are always all over the place, poor defending etc compared to todays rock solid inch perfect defending with 7 people back instead of 2 or 3 would DB really be able to do his famous little flick with defensive teams nowadays? 3 defenders infront of him, 1 behind them, 1 either side etc!
Cesc for Bergkamp, Vermaelen for Toure. Sagna/Lauren is a close call but based on the 2003/04 season I'd go for Lauren. -----------Lehmann---------- Lauren---Campbell--Vermaelen--Cole ------Gilberto----Vieira----------- Ljungberg--------------Pires ----------Fabregas---------- ---------------Henry--------
None of them would get in. I'm not even sure if any player in the whole premiership would get in. But thats only because I believe in team dynamics. They worked as a perfect team and knew their respective roles. Changing it with a brand new player in any postion would mess it up a bit, IMO.
Sagna for Lauren..Maybe. Also Berkamp was irreplaceable. One of the greatest players to have ever played in England.
Fabregas for Bergkamp? What have you been smoking? And can we all have some? Bergkamp is the GREATEST player to ever put on an Arsenal shirt!! This isn't a Lauren or Sagna debate where either one could of played with little difference to the way the team performed. This is BERGKAMP you talking about the guy is a LEGEND and would (IF still playing) probably still make our squad even at 45 years old!
I also think the whole question is a little silly! WE WENT UNBEATEN FOR AN ENTIRE SEASON!! Something that probably won't be done again in our lives! We are THE Invincibles for a reason and had the best team to EVER play in the premiership! It just shows how fickle some football fans can be by trying to replace players in a team that won almost everything and that was near prefect with ones that haven't won anything in 6 years... Just my opinion
