THE BEST SIDE EVER AN ARSENAL team? Promoted, albeit controversially, to the top flight in 1919, Arsenal have not played outside it since, so common sense, never mind statistics, would suggest that at least one of their teams would be challenging for the honour. What about Herbert Chapman’s team of the 1930s, the Double-winning teams of 1970-71 and 1997-98, or the Invincibles of 2003-04?

Is the 1990-91 Arsenal team really the best? That team were decent, of course. Forget that clichéd image of the famous back four of Lee Dixon, Steve Bould, Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn standing as one, arms aloft, appealing for offside, and instead remember the cultured passing of David Rocastle and Paul Davis, the bull-headed charging of a youthful Paul Merson and the trickery of Anders Limpar.

Incidentally, the Swede was then the exception rather than the rule at Highbury, with the 1990-91 team being almost exclusively composed of Englishmen, although, curiously, none was a regular fixture in the national set-up at that point. David Seaman arrived in the summer of 1990 and kept 29 clean sheets in 50 games, a record that won over the many supporters upset by the sale of John Lukic.

Although Arsenal did win the title in 1990-91, there were three events that will for ever stay in the memories of fans and neutrals alike and these, as season-spoilers, can never be plotted on charts, graphs and computer programmes. For a start, there was the first in a long-running series of brawls with Manchester United, which resulted in Arsenal being docked two points and fined £50,000. Several weeks later, Tony Adams received a three-month prison sentence for drink-driving. Finally, in April 1991, with the Double seemingly on track, a sensational free kick from Paul Gascoigne helped Tottenham Hotspur to revitalise their season with a 3-1 FA Cup semi-final victory at Wembley.

None of these events seemed to check Arsenal’s progress to the title, however, because they finished the season with a seven-point cushion over Liverpool. What was most memorable that season, was that Arsenal were beaten only once in the league, going down 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to end a run of 23 league matches unbeaten, although they did still set a 20th-century record for the fewest number of defeats in a season.

And yet although this team were more ruthless and less cavalier than the team who had won the league at the death at Anfield so memorably two seasons previously, for them to be labelled the best team of all time raises eyebrows even with Arsenal supporters, let alone non-partisan football fans. The defence was outstanding and remained so for many years, with Dixon, Winterburn, Bould and Adams still the backbone of the team for the Double season of 1997-98, hence the 1991 side’s position at the top of the Fink Tank’s “best defence” chart. No one could argue with that.

But for all the merits of many other Arsenal teams who have set records, won titles, cups and plaudits, the Invincibles have to be the benchmark by which not only all other Arsenal sides are measured, but also all their opponents. From the 38 league matches, there were 26 victories and 12 draws and history was made by the lack of a defeat.

The title was won with four matches in hand and by a margin of 11 points over a Chelsea team catapulted into the reckoning by the arrival in the summer of Roman Abramovich. A 5-1 win over Inter Milan at the San Siro was the highlight of Arsenal’s Champions League campaign, which ended at the quarter-final stage, and they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. Wenger was named manager of the year, while Thierry Henry retained his Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ player-of-the-year awards and won the Golden Boot.

Are the Arsenal 1990-91 team the best football team in history? To paraphrase John Lennon, who, when asked if Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, replied, “He’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles”, they’re not even the best in Arsenal’s history. Catherine Riley

THE TEAM

David Seaman
“Safe Hands” was England’s best goalkeeper in those pre-ponytail days

Lee Dixon
Scored five goals from full back but always knew how to defend

Tony Adams
The heart of the team, despite missing eight matches while in prison

Steve Bould
Looked ungainly but was rugged in the tackle. Hostile defender

Nigel Winterburn
Ever-present at left back. Completed a back four to be feared

David Rocastle
Classy midfield player hampered by injuries. Died, aged 33, in 2001

Michael Thomas
Powerful box-to-box player. Very combative in the centre of midfield

Paul Davis
Skilful and capable of providing the killer pass. Great close control

Anders Limpar
Tricky winger, quick feet, with the ability to skip past defenders

Alan Smith
Effective target man with the ability to hold the ball up. Great in the air

Paul Merson
Flying, in every sense of the word, in 1991. Great pace and skill

THE RUNNERS-UP

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