The 1999–2000 season was Arsenal's eighth season in the FA Premier League and their 74th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club ended the campaign second in the league, 18 points behind Manchester United. Arsenal exited both domestic cup competitions on penalties, being eliminated by Leicester City in a FA Cup fourth round replay and by Middlesbrough at the same stage of the Football League Cup. For the second consecutive season Arsenal failed to progress past the group stage of the UEFA Champions League; a third-place finish, however, earned them a consolation place in the UEFA Cup. Arsenal eventually reached the final to play Galatasaray in Copenhagen – the match was overshadowed by altercations between both sets of supporters. Arsenal lost 4–1 on penalties after a goalless draw.
A number of signings were made by Arsenal in the summer transfer window, namely defenders Sylvinho and Oleh Luzhnyi and striker Thierry Henry, who joined from Juventus on a club record fee. Davor Šuker departed Real Madrid to sign for Arsenal, following Nicolas Anelka's move in the opposite direction. Steve Bould left Arsenal to play for Sunderland, while Stephen Hughes signed for Everton in the spring.
Inconsistent performances in the league, particularly away from home, meant Arsenal never posed a serious threat to Manchester United, the reigning champions. Midfielder Patrick Vieira was suspended from playing for much of late autumn after a confrontation with West Ham United player Neil Ruddock. In October, Arsenal notably staged a comeback against Chelsea, with Nwankwo Kanu scoring a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes of the game. A run of eight straight wins between March and May propelled Arsenal from fifth to second and the team finished on 73 points.
Background
Arsenal ended the previous season as runners-up to Manchester United in the FA Premier League. The club made an indifferent start to the campaign as reigning league champions and failed to progress past the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. After defeat to Aston Villa in December 1998, Arsenal embarked on a 19 match unbeaten run (21 in all competitions) to climb up the league table. The run in all competitions ended against Manchester United in a FA Cup semi-final replay. In April, Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League after beating Middlesbrough 6–1, albeit having played a match more than Manchester United. A 3–1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur put Arsenal three points clear as United drew to Liverpool on the same night. Going into the final two matches of the season, both clubs were on the same points, but Arsenal's defeat to Leeds United all but ended their chances of retaining the title.
At the start of the 1999–2000 season, Arsenal ended its long-standing kit sponsorship with JVC. The club signed a three-year deal with SEGA as replacement, worth £10 million. The SEGA Dreamcast name was carried on the home kit, while SEGA was embroidered on the new yellow away kit.
Transfers Frenchman Rémi Garde retired from career football at the end of the 1998–99 season. Kaba Diawara left Arsenal six months after joining to sign for Marseille. Defender Steve Bould moved to Sunderland for an estimated fee of £500,000, which ended his 11-year association with Arsenal. The player felt it was the "right decision" as he wanted first-team football.
In May 1999, Nicolas Anelka stated his desire to leave Arsenal and cited the English media as a reason for wanting to leave the club as they caused him "enormous problems on a personal level". Lazio was interested in signing the player, but the Italian club refused to pay Arsenal's asking price of £23 million. After Real Madrid reopened negotiations with Arsenal and Anelka, a deal was finally reached on 1 August 1999 and the player signed for the club, the next day. Arsenal sought to strengthen the squad's attacking options first by signing Davor Šuker from Real Madrid; the player was prepared to take a pay cut to join the club. The club then signed Juventus forward Thierry Henry for a club record fee of £11 million. Wenger, who served as the player's mentor at Monaco, believed his best position was as a goalscorer: "He was the top scorer in the Under-17s for France when I first had him and I think that, as well as having the qualities of youth, pace and power, he is a good finisher. That is something he has not worked on enough in the last two years because he has played more wide, but I think he can become a central striker again. That is what we will try to develop together."
Other additions to the squad included Sylvinho and Oleh Luzhnyi. Striker Luís Boa Morte moved to Southampton in August 1999, while midfielder Stephen Hughes completed his transfer to Everton in March 2000.
In
No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRef22DFOleh LuzhnyiDynamo Kyiv£1,800,00028 May 199926DFMoritz VolzSchalke 04Undisclosed1 June 199919MFStefan Malz1860 Munich£650,00024 June 199916DFSylvinhoCorinthians£4,000,00030 June 19999FWDavor ŠukerReal Madrid£3,500,0002 August 199914FWThierry HenryJuventus£11,000,0003 August 1999
Out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRef27FWKaba DiawaraMarseilleUndisclosed1 June 199926FWFabián CaballeroTembetaryUndisclosed9 June 1999 19MFRémi GardeRetired9 June 19995DFSteve BouldSunderland£500,0002 July 199929DFJason CrowePortsmouthFree7 July 1999 28MFMichael BlackTranmere RoversFree8 July 1999 9FWNicolas AnelkaReal Madrid£23,500,0004 August 199921MFLuís Boa MorteSouthamptonUndisclosed26 August 199932MFOmer RizaWest Ham UnitedUndisclosed8 December 1999 23MFStephen HughesEvertonUndisclosed7 March 2000
Loan out No.PositionPlayerLoaned toLoan commencedLoan expiredRef23MFAlberto MéndezSpVgg Unterhaching6 October 1999End of the season 31GKStuart TaylorBristol Rovers24 September 1999October 199922MFDavid GrondinSaint-Étienne1 August 1999End of the season36DFBrian McGovernQueens Park Rangers4 January 2000April 2000
Pre-season and friendlies In preparation for the forthcoming season, Arsenal played a series of friendlies. In England, they travelled away to play Boreham Wood, and Notts County, before travelling to France to play Saint-Étienne and Monaco.
Lee Dixon Testimonial The club also staged a testimonial for defender Lee Dixon once the season commenced against Real Madrid.
FA Charity Shield
The 1999 edition of the FA Charity Shield was contested between Manchester United and Arsenal. The game took place at Wembley Stadium on 1 August. Manchester United went ahead seven minutes before the end of the first half, but late goals from Kanu and Ray Parlour gave Arsenal victory in the match. Wenger believed the result showed that his team were "ready for the season" and thought it was "...psychologically important to beat United, especially after the great run they have had".
FA Premier League
August–October
Arsenal began the league season with a home fixture against Leicester City. Henry started the match on the substitutes' bench along with Overmars and Upson, while Šuker was absent as he was unfit. After a quiet first half, Leicester scored the opening goal when Neil Lennon's intervention prompted striker Tony Cottee to "gleefully pounce from inside the six-yard box". Dennis Bergkamp equalised for Arsenal in the 65th minute and with time running out, the home team scored the winner in unexpected circumstances. Defender Frank Sinclair headed the ball into the back of his team's goal net, after Leicester failed to deal with a corner. Three days later, Emmanuel Petit and Bergkamp scored in Arsenal's win against Derby County; the team's performance was described by Wenger as "more resilient than brilliant". Arsenal drew 0–0 with newly promoted Sunderland on 14 August 1999, in a match where Petit and Bergkamp both suffered injuries. A week after the team faced Manchester United at Highbury. It was billed as "the world's first live interactive match", allowing viewers of Sky Digital access to statistics and alternative camera angles. United midfielder Roy Keane scored twice to overturn Arsenal's 41st-minute lead and inflict the home team's first defeat since December 1997. Arsenal recovered three days later to defeat Bradford City by two goals to nil, but lost to Liverpool at Anfield in their final game of August.
September saw Arsenal win all of their league matches. At home to Aston Villa, Šuker scored his first goals for the club and earned the praise of his manager Wenger: "He is just obsessed by goals. You feel when he is inside the box he hits the target." Away to Southampton, it was the other signing Henry who scored his first goal for Arsenal. The player, on as a substitute, received the ball from Tony Adams and with his back to goal "some 20 yards out", turned and curled it past goalkeeper Paul Jones. Henry later admitted his failure to score for Arsenal before then was getting him down: "My goal today was very important for me. I have missed at least 14 or 15 chances for Arsenal and my confidence was low." Kanu scored the only goal of the match against Watford, which moved Arsenal in third position, two points behind leaders Manchester United.
Arsenal faced West Ham United in the first weekend of October. Dixon, Nigel Winterburn and Overmars were rested for the match, replaced by Oleh Luzhnyi, Slyvinho and Davor Šuker. In spite of general dominance from Arsenal, West Ham striker Paolo di Canio scored in each half to win his team the match. Patrick Vieira was dismissed during play for a foul on Di Canio. A confrontation soon after occurred between the player and Neil Ruddock. Vieira was subsequently charged, banned for six matches and fined a record £45,000 by The Football Association. Šuker scored twice against Everton at Highbury on 16 October 1999. Arsenal then travelled to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Goals from Tore André Flo and Dan Petrescu seemed to have given the home side victory, before Kanu scored a hat-trick in the space of 15 minutes. His first involved extending his legs and stabbing the ball past goalkeeper Ed de Goey, once it fell kindly in his direction. The equaliser came in the 83rd minute: Kanu received the ball from Overmars, which took him away from goal but hit the ball to the left of De Goey's dive. In injury time Kanu, in the downpour, chased down the ball and dribbled past the stranded Chelsea goalkeeper on the byline, before curling the ball over Frank Leboeuf and into the far corner of the goal net. Kanu's teammate Šuker described the third goal as "beautiful", while Bergkamp added: "The skills he has got, the moves he makes, are something you like to watch and learn from. I watch him in training and it is a joy." The month ended with a goalless draw at home to Newcastle United, which left Arsenal fourth, three points behind league leaders Leeds United.
November–February Arsenal's first fixture of November was the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. After 20 minutes, Tottenham were 2–0 up after goals from Steffen Iversen and Tim Sherwood. Vieira scored for Arsenal from a header, but there were no further goals in the game. In the second half Ljungberg was sent off, as was Keown in stoppage time, to reduce Arsenal to nine men. The team responded with a 5–1 win against Middlesbrough, in which Overmars scored three goals. Arsenal then came from behind to beat Derby County on 28 November 1999; they ended the month in third, three points behind Leeds United in first.