1998: F.A. Cup final, Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 at Wembley to complete a domestic Double. David Seaman had the EPL's Most Clean Sheets in goal; striker Dennis Bergkamp - the Flying Dutchman was the Player of the Year while Nicholas Anelka became the Young Player of the Year. Arsenal's All-Time Leading Scorer at that time (with 185 goals) Ian Wright retired. He was missed in the 1999 Premier League Season which saw the club surrender their crown in the final run after a 1-0 defeat by Leeds United. So, Wenger brought in Thierry Daniel Henry during the 1999-2000 pre-season and the rest is as they say: well, read on!
2002: Patrick Vieira saw his dreams come true as Arsenal became a force to behold. This was a very memorable time for me as my loyalty to the club was tested in a crucible and rewarded at the same time. Arsenal clinched their second Double under Wenger and third overall, remaining Unbeaten away from home. They became the First English Team to score in every match extending the record to 55 consecutive games. Awards went to Henry (Top Scorer), Bergkamp (Goal of the Season), Pires (Football Writers Association Player of the Year) and Ljungberg (F.A. and Barclaycard). I actually made an exclusive Arsenal Season Chart with pictures and statistics filling up a manila scroll after May 2002, probably now lost or burnt. A cousin much older than me plus a diehard Man Utd fan asked me how I knew all this information. I did not reply him, but the reason is simply: my Heart adores Arsenal!
2003: Ljungberg was on the verge of becoming the First Player to score in three consecutive F.A. Cup Finals but he blew his chances. Remember when he felt so dejected after his first half strike was cancelled out by two late goals for the opponents in 2001 and then he returned to net the second for Arsenal the following year after some serious soul-searching? Pires saved Freddie and the team's blushes in a 1-0 Final win over Southampton though the Swede scored some in the preliminary stages. The Premiership on the other hand was like the remake of the 1999 Slip Up before Thierry joined. We surrendered the title 2-3 at home because of the same team (Leeds) and to the same Champions (Man Utd) yet scored more goals than them and ended the season only five points behind which means if we hadn't lost two extra games, we would have remained Champions for three consecutive Seasons considering the fact that we never lost again for a very very very very long time...
2004: This was arguably the Best Premiership Season at Highbury, a feat never achieved in English Football since its inception. Only Preston North End went through an entire season without a loss but they played only 19 games. Arsenal meanwhile played two times more and even extended their record to 49 games. Thierry netted 30 goals including four in just one game (like retribution against Leeds United, them again). There was no surrender because of Leeds this time: Henry won the Goal of the Year Award, European Golden Boot plus both the FWA (Football Writers Association) and PFA (Professional Fooballers Association) Footballer of the Year Awards for the second year in a row. Spanish sensation Jose Antonio Reyes joined midway the season to enjoy the party up to the next season which he started with five goals in the first five games. The Most Exciting Goal in those consecutive five games was the winner against Middlesbrough (5-3 Comeback) to equal Nottingham Forest's 42 Game Unbeaten Record...
2005: Remember the name and get used to it! Although FIFA's Coaches and Captains didn't vote him as World Footballer of the Year nor win the Ballon d'Or European Player of the Year Award, Thierry Henry's performances continued to sizzle. It's like Thierry got fiery every new season. He became the First Premiership Star to win three straight Player of the Year accolades. Arsenal beat Man Utd in a penalty shootout to win their 10th F.A. Cup, the very last trophy won while still at the old home. Chelsea took the Premiership, the fourth team since 1992 after Man Utd, Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal...
2006: Saying Farewell to Highbury (1913 to 2006) - 93 Years of Glorious Memories, Thierry became the Arsenal captain after Vieira's departure and critics said it was affecting his goal-scoring. He answered them back by becoming the Premiership's Top Scorer for the 4th time in 7 years and leading his teammates to the UEFA Champions League Final. That plus the semifinals was the furthest Arsenal had never gone and they came out Runners-up after scoring first in a commendable 10-man fight only giving in during the last 15 minutes. It was the first time a player had been sent off in a European final. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (who never conceeded a single goal in the whole tournament) was very unlucky but Wenger made a bad tactical change in taking off Robert Pires as the sacrifice for Almunia to go in goal, something he is certain made the Frenchman leave Arsenal. I found it hard to forgive AW for the substitution but when Pires did, I did too. Despite giving reasons like family issues in London, am convinced that Henry left Arsenal in January 2007 for Barcelona because Pires had left. Their styles complemented each other very well. I wasn't amazed when some fans cried because it was almost inevitable...
Emirates: A new era begins at the 60,000 seater stadium in Ashburton Grove, only 1 mile away from Highbury. Henry was the first captain at the Emirates Stadium. Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie naturally became the names to look up to. But along also came world-class players like Brazilian star Julio "The Beast" Baptista who scored four goals in one game at Anfield just like Russian ace Andrei Arshavin (great night); Israeli Yossi Benayoun who got Liverpool's equaliser during Arshavin's foursome later moved to Chelsea then the Emirates; Czech sharpshooter Tomasz Rosicky; Spaniard Mikel Arteta from Everton; Frenchman Samir Nasri who scored his first Arsenal goal in the 4th minute of his debut (and it was the only goal in the game); Assist-master Mesut Oezil; Petr Cech (Record-holder for EPL Most Clean Sheets); etc...
