2004–05 Arsenal F.C. season

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Goalmouth action at Highbury, where Arsenal played Blackburn Rovers in August 2004.

Arsenal began their defence of the league title against Everton on 15 August 2004. Fàbregas was named in the first eleven; at 17 years 103 days he became the club's youngest ever Premier League player.[22] It was Bergkamp on his 500th league appearance who opened the scoring for Arsenal and Reyes made it 2–0, heading the ball in from Freddie Ljungberg's cross.[22][23] Ljungberg added a third goal in the second half and in spite of the team conceding moments after, Robert Pires scored Arsenal's fourth in the 83rd minute.[22] Shortly before the kick-off at home to Middlesbrough the following weekend, the club was presented a golden replica of the Premier League trophy, to commemorate their unbeaten season. In the match, Henry gave Arsenal the lead, which was cancelled out before half time by Joseph-Désiré Job's goal-bound effort.[24] Four minutes after the interval, Franck Queudrue exploited an error from defender Pascal Cygan and in turn passed the ball to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who "finish[ed] with perfect brutality".[24] Queudrue scored to put Middlesbrough 3–1 up in the 53rd minute, but Bergkamp replied with a goal for Arsenal a minute later. The home team completed the comeback with further goals by Reyes, Pires and Henry. Wenger afterwards admitted Arsenal's defending was poor, but said their attacking threat made up for their deficiencies.[24] The 5–3 win meant Arsenal equalled Nottingham Forest's record of 42 league matches undefeated.[24] Three days later, the team beat Blackburn Rovers 3–0 to set a new record.[25] Arsenal at the end of the month travelled to Norwich City, where three first half goals set the team on the way to a 4–1 victory.[26] The win ended Norwich's eight-month undefeated record at Carrow Road.[26]

Due to international fixtures, Arsenal did not play another game for two weeks. On the resumption of club football, they travelled across London to face Fulham. Vieira made his return to the first team in place of Fàbregas.[27] Fulham was awarded a penalty in the first half, after Ashley Cole brought down striker Andy Cole in the penalty area. Referee Mark Halsey however changed his mind after protests from the Arsenal players and a consultation with his assistant; the game was restarted with a dropped-ball. Arsenal scored three times in the second half and ended the weekend of 6 September 2004 top of the league table, two points clear of second place Chelsea.[28][29] The league champions dropped their first points of the season at home to Bolton Wanderers.[30] At the City of Manchester Stadium on 25 September 2004, a goal by Cole earned Arsenal a 1–0 win against Manchester City. Journalist Russell Thomas, writing for The Guardian, commented on Arsenal's fatigue during the second half and opined that the team needed to keep their focus against sterner opposition.[31]

Arsenal beat Charlton Athletic in early October to extend their unbeaten run to 48 league matches. Charlton manager Alan Curbishley said of his opponents: "The gulf between Arsenal and the rest of the Premier League means that the rest have got it all to do to try and stop them, and I'm including the big three or four."[32] Two goals from Pires and one from Henry ensured a 3–1 win against Aston Villa, who had led the game early on. Attention soon turned to Arsenal's trip to face Manchester United. The champions were looking to go half a century of league games unbeaten, whereas the home team – in transition, attempted to push on for a title challenge.[33] The game saw many late aggressive tackles made by United players go unpunished and later in the match, an attempted challenge by Sol Campbell on Wayne Rooney earned Manchester United a controversial penalty, converted by Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 73rd minute. Rooney then scored United's second goal of the match to end Arsenal's unbeaten run on 49 games.[34] Tempers boiled over in the players' tunnel, where pizza was thrown at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.[35] When speaking to the media, a distraught Wenger told reporters that Rooney dived to win the penalty and criticised the refereeing performance of Mike Riley. He was later found guilty of insinuating that Van Nistelrooy was a cheat, and fined £15,000 by the FA.[36]

The final match of October was against Southampton at Highbury. Henry who missed a penalty early on, scored to put Arsenal in front in the 67th minute. Southampton replied with two goals from Rory Delap, but Van Persie in stoppage time equalised for the home team with a curling shot.[37] The draw meant Arsenal stood in first position and had accumulated 26 points. The team were level on points with Chelsea, with a marginally better goal difference.[38]

For the second league game in succession, Arsenal dropped two points. The team drew 1–1 at Crystal Palace on 6 November 2004, which meant Chelsea overtook them in first position.[39][40] Wenger rued Arsenal's inability to hold onto leads in matches and admitted the fluency had disappeared in their football, possibly because of the manner in which they lost the unbeaten record.[39] A week later Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. It was Tottenham who began the match the better of the two teams and took the lead after 36 minutes when Noureddine Naybet scored. Henry equalised for Arsenal moments before half-time, and the champions went in front after Lauren converted a penalty. Vieira scored on the hour mark to make it 3–1, before Jermain Defoe replied for Tottenham instantly with a "wonderful, dipping finish into the top corner".[41] Fàbregas created Arsenal’s fourth goal, scored by Ljungberg. In the final 16 minutes Tottenham scored twice and Arsenal once; the final score was 5–4, making it the highest scoring North London derby.[41][42] Arsenal's defending was ridiculed by Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who told reporters, "Five-four is a hockey score, not a football score."[43]

Arsenal only managed a draw against West Bromwich Albion on 20 November 2004; Robert Earnshaw's goal with 11 minutes remaining of normal time cancelled out Pires' opener.[45] Arsenal lost their final match of November, away to Liverpool at Anfield. Vieira finished off a one-touch move to equalise for Arsenal – who were behind in the first half – but Neil Mellor scored the winning goal of the game, shooting from long range.[46] Football pundit Alan Hansen in his analysis on Match of the Day criticised the temperament of Arsenal’s players and questioned their desire: "When you have success, sometimes it isn't there and you have to dig in with great determination and hard work, and at the moment they are not doing that. When you look at their two big players, Henry and Vieira, [you think they] must do better in future."[47] Arsenal ended the month in second, five points behind leaders Chelsea.[48]

Henry scored two late goals in Arsenal’s victory over Birmingham City on 4 December 2004. Wenger replaced Lehmann in goal with Almunia, who made his league debut.[49] Arsenal then faced league leaders Chelsea at Highbury; the match was billed as "Judgement Day" by Sky Sports.[50] With Vieira suspended and Gilberto and Edu injured, Wenger picked Flamini to partner Fabregas in midfield.[51][52] The first chance of the match went to Henry, who scored inside 75 seconds. John Terry levelled the score, but Henry restored Arsenal’s lead from a contentious free-kick – Graham Poll allowed the striker to take it quickly without warning the Chelsea players.[53] Eiður Guðjohnsen equalised early in the second half for Chelsea, and late on Henry missed a chance to score a hat-trick. There were no further goals and the match ended 2–2, meaning Chelsea remained five points clear of Arsenal.[54] Wenger said he was disappointed in the manner his team conceded to Chelsea – from two set pieces, but added, "I thought we did really well, and it was important for us to come back to the level we want to be at."[55]

Arsenal won their remaining games in December and conceded no goals. They beat Portsmouth courtesy of a Campbell goal in the second half, and on Boxing Day defeated Fulham by two goals.[56][57] Vieira scored the winning goal against Newcastle United, a volley that deflected over goalkeeper Shay Given.[58] After 20 games, Arsenal accumulated 44 points and lay second in the league table.[59]

On New Year's Day, Ljungberg scored two goals in Arsenal’s 3–1 win against Charlton Athletic.[60] The team four days later drew at home to Manchester City.[61] Arsenal lost further ground to Chelsea after defeat to Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.[62] Wenger conceded that Chelsea were favourites to win the league because of their point advantage, but added: "We will keep going and fight until the last minute of the championship."[63] Arsenal ended January with a 1–0 home win against Newcastle United. Wenger made four changes from the Bolton defeat, with Bergkamp the match scorer coming in place of Van Persie.[64]

The first night of February saw Arsenal host Manchester United at Highbury. In the tunnel before the match Roy Keane was seen confronting Vieira; the United captain accused him of intimidating his teammate Gary Neville.[65] Vieira scored after eight minutes, but Giggs equalised for Manchester United 10 minutes later. Bergkamp restored Arsenal’s advantage nine minutes before half time, but two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and one by John O'Shea in the second half gave United a 4–2 win.[66] It was Arsenal's fourth league defeat of the season and moved them down to third spot, overtaken by their opponents. Wenger ruled his team out of the title race and refused to blame Almunia for his error in Ronaldo's first goal.[67] The goalkeeper was dropped in Arsenal's next game, away to Aston Villa. Three first half goals by Ljungberg, Henry and Cole gave Arsenal a comfortable win.[68]

For the match against Crystal Palace on 14 February 2005, Wenger named an Arsenal squad that did not feature a single British player – a first in the club’s history. The team did not get off to the best of starts with Lehmann miskicking a back pass and Vieira losing possession routinely, but grew as the game went on and scored three goals in seven minutes. On his 200th league appearance, Henry scored in either half, with the result 5–1 to Arsenal. The result was somewhat overshadowed by the foreign makeup of the team; former player Paul Merson called it a "joke"[69] and PFA chairman Gordon Taylor noted it was a "worrying pattern for English football".[70] When asked about his team selections, Wenger said: "I don't look at the passport of people, I look at their quality and their attitude."[71]

Arsenal only earned a point at Southampton, where Van Persie was sent off for a late challenge on Graeme Le Saux.[72] The team remained in third at the end of February, four points behind Manchester United and 10 behind leaders Chelsea, who played a game less than both challengers.[73]

Arsenal’s form improved as the season drew to a close. At home to Portsmouth on 5 March 2005, the team earned three points courtesy of Henry’s hat-trick.[74] Van Persie scored the only goal in Arsenal’s match against Blackburn Rovers and the team moved back to second position with a home win against Norwich City – Henry scored another hat-trick.[75][76] A week later Pires' goal was enough for Arsenal to beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium and win their fourth consecutive match.[77] The team then played out a goalless draw against Chelsea, who were on course to become champions; Wenger congratulated his opponents on their season and felt Arsenal needed to score first so that they could "force them to come out from the back."[78]

Arsenal defeated Tottenham 1–0 on 25 April 2005, which meant Chelsea needed to wait on Saturday in order to mathematically win the title.[79] Second position was the best Arsenal could aim for by the time they faced West Bromwich Albion on 2 May 2005. Goals from Van Persie and Edu earned a 2–0 win for the team and Arsenal beat Champions League finalists Liverpool at Highbury to all-but secure second spot.[80][81] Arsenal recorded the biggest win of the league season, against Everton at Highbury. An inspired performance by Bergkamp helped the team win 7–0; he created the opening two goals and scored in the second half.[82] Arsenal lost their final game of the campaign, away to Birmingham City. It was a lacklustre performance by the visitors, who equalised through Bergkamp after going a goal behind, but conceded in the 90th minute.[83]

Arsenal were drawn in Group E, along with Dutch champions PSV, Greek club Panathinaikos and Norwegian side Rosenborg.[98] An Alex own goal was enough for Arsenal to claim three points against PSV on the first matchday. The team drew away to Rosenborg and earnt a point at Panathinaikos, despite twice having taken the lead at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium.[99][100] In the reverse fixture, Cygan scored an own goal to cancel out Henry's first-half opener; the result left Arsenal in second position.[101] Their next match was against PSV at the Philips Stadion, where after eight minutes the home side took the lead. Henry equalised for Arsenal, having created the chance following a one-two with Ljungberg. In the second half Lauren and Vieira were both sent off, for two bookable offences.[102] Wenger accepted referee Herbert Fandel's decision, but added his surprise that Mark van Bommel was not cautioned: "If you look at the number of fouls he made without being punished it is very surprising because he made some deliberate fouls. Some people might criticise Patrick when we were down to 10 men but he felt he had to fight harder to win the ball."[103]

The draw against PSV meant Arsenal had to beat against Rosenborg to qualify for the last 16. A 5–1 win at home, with five different goalscorers on the scoresheet, put Arsenal top of the group given PSV lost to Panathinaikos.[104]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arsenal	6	2	4	0	11	6	+5	10	Advance to knockout stage
2	PSV Eindhoven	6	3	1	2	6	7	−1	10
3	Panathinaikos	6	2	3	1	11	8	+3	9	Transfer to UEFA Cup
4	Rosenborg	6	0	2	4	6	13	−7	2

Arsenal v PSV

14 September 2004 1	Arsenal	1–0	PSV	London, England
19:45 BST	Alex  41' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 34,068 Referee: Domenico Messina (Italy)

Rosenborg v Arsenal

29 September 2004 2	Rosenborg	1–1	Arsenal	Trondheim, Norway
20:45 CET	Strand  52'	Report	Ljungberg  6'	Stadium: Lerkendal Stadion Attendance: 21,100 Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany)

Panathinaikos v Arsenal

20 October 2004 3	Panathinaikos	2–2	Arsenal	Athens, Greece
20:45 CET	González  65' Olisadebe  82'	Report	Ljungberg  18' Henry  74'	Stadium: Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium Attendance: 12,346 Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)

Arsenal v Panathinaikos

2 November 2004 4	Arsenal	1–1	Panathinaikos	London, England
19:45 GMT	Henry  16' (pen.)	Report	Cygan  75' (o.g.)	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 35,137 Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

PSV v Arsenal

24 November 2004 5	PSV	1–1	Arsenal	Eindhoven, Netherlands
20:45 CET	Ooijer  8'	Report	Henry  31' Lauren  65' Vieira  78'	Stadium: Philips Stadion Attendance: 35,200 Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)

Arsenal v Rosenborg

7 December 2004 6	Arsenal	5–1	Rosenborg	London, England
19:45 GMT	Reyes  3' Henry  24' Fàbregas  29' Pires  41' (pen.) van Persie  84'	Report	Hoftun  38'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 35,421 Referee: Stefano Farina (Italy)

Arsenal were drawn against Bayern Munich in the knockout stages.[106] In the first leg a mistake from Touré presented Claudio Pizarro to score inside four minutes. The striker then scored his second of the match in the 58th minute, getting past his marker Touré, and Hasan Salihamidžić added a third for Bayern seven minutes later. Touré scored an away goal late on for Arsenal, which gave them a slender chance of progressing into the quarter-finals.[107] Arsenal beat Bayern in the second leg, but a solitary goal – scored by Henry in the 66th minute, meant the club was eliminated.[108]

Bayern Munich v Arsenal

22 February 2005 First leg	Bayern Munich	3–1	Arsenal	Munich, Germany
20:45 CET	Pizarro  4', 58' Salihamidžić  65'	Report	Touré  88'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 36,891 Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)

Arsenal v Bayern Munich

9 March 2005 Second leg	Arsenal	1–0 (2–3 agg.)	Bayern Munich	London, England
19:45 GMT	Henry  66'	Report		Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 35,450 Referee: Massimo De Santis (Italy)