The 2002–03 season was Arsenal Football Club's 11th season in the Premier League and their 77th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club retained the FA Cup, a feat last achieved by Tottenham Hotspur in 1982, but finished runners-up to Manchester United in the Premier League. In the UEFA Champions League, defeat to Valencia in the second group stage meant Arsenal exited the competition at the same round for the second successive year.
Arsenal began the new campaign as league and cup double winners, and manager Arsène Wenger sought improvement in the Champions League, a competition the club failed in. The retirement of longtime defender Tony Adams meant French midfielder Patrick Vieira was appointed as captain; Pascal Cygan was signed as a replacement in defence. Other recruitments included defensive midfielders Gilberto Silva and Kolo Touré, while goalkeepers Alex Manninger and Richard Wright departed to join Espanyol and Everton respectively.
In the league, a 4–1 win against Leeds United in September meant the club broke the record for scoring in consecutive games (47), and away league games without defeat (22). The club began 2003 in first position, but subsequently floundered; a draw to Aston Villa in April allowed Manchester United to move joint top. A further draw at Bolton Wanderers meant the league championship was, mathematically, out of Arsenal's hands and defeat to Leeds a week after ended their chances of retaining the league. Consolation came in retaining the FA Cup; a solitary goal scored by midfielder Robert Pires was enough to beat Southampton in the 2003 final.
30 different players represented the club in five competitions and there were 17 different goalscorers. Arsenal's top goalscorer was Thierry Henry, who scored 32 goals in 55 appearances.
Background
Arsenal began the 2001–02 season in good form and a win against Liverpool in December 2001 – having gone down to ten men in the first half, helped them move second in the table. A draw against Southampton on 2 February 2002 started a run of 13 consecutive league wins – a new record, beginning against Everton. Arsenal won the league away to Manchester United at Old Trafford on 8 May 2002; the winning goal was scored by Sylvain Wiltord in the second half. The result meant the team were unbeaten away from home all season, and in scoring four goals against Everton on the final day, became the first team to score in every league match they played. Arsenal completed the double, having beaten Chelsea 2–0 in the 2002 FA Cup Final.
Wenger hoped his team's success would begin an era of dominating English football for years to come, citing a "shift of power". He moreover aimed for significant improvement in the Champions League, a competition where the club failed to reach higher than the quarter-finals. Such was Arsenal's impressive form in late summer, Wenger commented that his team could go the entire season undefeated.
Arsenal's kit sponsorship with O2 came into action in the 2002–03 season, replacing the Sega Dreamcast.
Transfers Wenger appointed midfielder Patrick Vieira as captain after Tony Adams announced his retirement from football. Defender Lee Dixon left the club after 14 years, retiring at the age of 38. Arsenal did not spend big in the transfer market unlike their rivals and only made subtle additions to the squad: World Cup winner Gilberto Silva and defender Pascal Cygan. English duo Martin Keown and goalkeeper David Seaman extended their stay at the club for two and one more years respectively.
In the January transfer window, defender Matthew Upson was sold to Birmingham City and midfielder Steve Sidwell joined Reading on an undisclosed fee. Goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz signed a short-term contract with Arsenal, as cover for Seaman, Stuart Taylor and Rami Shaaban.
In No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRef18Pascal CyganLille£2,100,00011 July 200219Gilberto SilvaAtlético Mineiro£4,500,0007 August 200224Rami ShaabanDjurgårdenUndisclosed30 August 200220Guillaume WarmuzLensUndisclosed
Out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRef2DFLee DixonRetired1 July 20026DFTony AdamsRetired1 July 200237FWCarlin ItongaReleased1 July 200213Alex ManningerEspanyol£960,0004 July 200240Rohan RickettsTottenham HotspurFree transfer13 July 200224Richard WrightEverton£3,500,00024 July 200245MFSteve SidwellReadingUndisclosed20 January 200320DFMatthew UpsonBirmingham City£2,500,00022 January 2003
Pre-season To prepare for the upcoming season, Arsenal played a number of friendlies. On 17 June, they played Stevenage for Paul Fairclough's managerial testimonial, then travelled abroad to play Austrian teams Neuberg, and Rapid Wien, before competing in the Tri-team pre-season tournament, also in Austria, winning matches against both Panathinaikos and Roma. Their last match in Austria consisted of a strong 3–1 win against 1860 Munich, before travelling to Belgium to play Beveren, and eventually back to England, beating Barnet in their final pre-season game.
Mid-Season Friendlies During the season, Arsenal played a number of friendlies at their training ground in London Colney. The dates and details of these matches are displayed below.
FA Community Shield
As Premier League and FA Cup winners, Arsenal contested the 2002 FA Community Shield against league runners-up Liverpool. Gilberto, making his debut for Arsenal in the second half as a substitute, scored the winning goal, in a match where the team missed numerous chances.
Premier League
A total of 20 teams competed in the Premier League in the 2002–03 season. Each team played 38 matches; two against every other team and one match at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the season the top two teams qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League; teams in third and fourth needed to play a qualifier.
August–October
Arsenal began the season with a 2–0 home victory against promoted Birmingham City; goals from Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord extended the club's winning run to fourteen matches – a new top-flight record. A late equaliser by Wiltord in their next match at West Ham United earned Arsenal a point, having trailed 2–0 in the first half. Three days later, a 5–2 win against West Bromwich Albion moved Arsenal to the top of the league table. Although they drew to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, having lost captain Vieira through a sending-off, a win against Manchester City meant Arsenal leapfrogged local rivals Tottenham Hotspur to first position. A 3–0 win at Charlton Athletic on 15 September 2002 pleased Wenger, who indicated after the match the league was theirs to lose: "We know we can win the league. We know we can be stronger. At this stage last season we were not as good as we are now." Striker Kanu scored a stoppage time winner against Bolton Wanderers to win their eleventh successive home game.
At Elland Road, Leeds United hosted Arsenal on 28 September 2002. Goals from Kolo Touré and Henry and a brace from Kanu ensured Arsenal eclipsed Nottingham Forest's record of 22 away league games without defeat and scored in 47 consecutive league matches, breaking Chesterfield Town's achievement. Wenger hailed the performance as "edging nearer to perfection", adding it evoked memories of the Ajax team in the 1970s: "We are playing great, 'Total Football'. Danger comes from everywhere." Leeds manager Terry Venables agreed: "Manchester United have been exceptional for 10 years – but I've not seen anything as good as that."
Arsenal started October with a 3–1 win against Sunderland, breaking Manchester United's Premier League record of 30 matches unbeaten. They however suffered their first defeat of the season, against Everton; teenager Wayne Rooney scored from long range in the last minute of the match. Wenger used his post-match press conference to praise the striker: "At that age, Rooney is already a complete footballer. The guy can play. He's the best English under-20 I've seen since I came here [in 1996]." In spite of dominating their next match against Blackburn Rovers – "27 goal attempts, 14 on target," Arsenal were beaten 2–1; the winning goal was scored by Dwight Yorke in the second half. It was the team's third consecutive defeat in all competitions, their worst run since November 2000, and moved league leaders Liverpool four points clear at the top of the table.
November–February A Steve Marlet own goal gave Arsenal a much-needed 1–0 win against Fulham, ceasing their run of four defeats on 3 November 2002. Another 1–0 win, this time against Newcastle United moved Arsenal one point behind leaders Liverpool. Vieira's performance in particular was plauded in The Guardian as a "demonstration of tackling, control, awareness and movement that was exceptional even by his standards." In the North London derby on 16 November 2002, Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotpsur 3–0 to go back at the top of the league table. The opening goal, scored by Henry was later voted the Goal of the Season by viewers of ITV's The Premiership, having picked up the ball from Arsenal's side of the pitch and running past the opposition defence to shoot past goalkeeper Kasey Keller. At St Mary's Stadium, Arsenal lost 3–2 to Southampton; striker James Beattie scored twice against an Arsenal defence, who conceded three goals in total for the first time since May 2001. Defender Sol Campbell had been sent off in the match, and was suspended for a further game, against Manchester United. Arsenal ended the month with a 3–1 victory over visitors Aston Villa; midfielder Robert Pires scoring for the second successive league match and Henry adding a further two goals.
Arsenal faced Manchester United at Old Trafford on 7 December 2002; the home team had beaten title challengers Liverpool the previous weekend. Manchester United opened the scoring in the 21st minute – a poor clearance by Cygan allowed Juan Sebastián Verón to score. Arsenal goalkeeper Rami Shaaban was substituted before the start of the second half, having pulled a thigh muscle. He was replaced by Stuart Taylor, who was helpless to prevent Paul Scholes from scoring a second goal, 15 minutes before the final whistle. A 1–1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur was followed by a win against Middlesbrough; a goal apiece from Campbell and Pires meant Arsenal were top of the table on Christmas. On Boxing Day, Arsenal came from a goal down to beat West Brom 2–1; in doing so, they extended their lead at the top to four points. Three days later, Arsenal's lead was increased to five points, having drawn with Liverpool.
In spite of conceding two late goals against Chelsea, Arsenal won by a solitary goal on New Year's Day to maintain their lead. Two goals from Henry against Birmingham City took his total for the club to 100 goals in all competitions; Wenger declared the display – a 4–0 win, as his team's best since beating Leeds United in September. Henry scored a hat-trick for Arsenal against West Ham United on 19 January 2003 but the team drew at Liverpool in spite of a polished performance; Emile Heskey headered the ball into the net, scoring for the home team after 90 minutes. On 1 February 2003, Pires scored a late goal against Fulham, extending Arsenal's lead to six points at the top. This was followed by a 1–1 draw against Newcastle United; manager Sir Bobby Robson after the game criticised referee Neale Barry for his decision to send off midfielder Laurent Robert and Dennis Bergkamp's role in the dismissal, suggesting he "wasn't trying to play the ball to anybody. He kicked the ball against Laurent – I've seen other players do that and I don't like it." Arsenal beat Manchester City 5–1 in their final trip to Maine Road on 22 February 2003. The first four goals, all scored before the half-hour, came at a time when "[Alex] Ferguson ordered the radio to be switched before they reached Old Trafford, presumably in ghastly silence."