page_title: 2003–04 Arsenal F.C. season
section_title: Aftermath and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: 2003–04 Arsenal F.C. season / Aftermath and legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: The Premier League commissioned a special gold trophy to commemorate Arsenal F.C. completing a whole league season without losing a match. It is on display in the Emirates Stadium.
context_page_description: The 2003–04 season was the 106th in the history of Arsenal Football Club. It began on 1 July 2003 and concluded on 30 June 2004, with competitive matches played between August and May. The club ended the Premier League campaign as champions without a single defeat – a record of 26 wins and 12 draws. Arsenal fared less well in the cups, eliminated in the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals to Manchester United and Middlesbrough respectively, and at the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League to Chelsea.
  The main addition to the first team was goalkeeper Jens Lehmann for £1.5 million; striker José Antonio Reyes was later purchased in the winter transfer window. Arsenal retained their best players and successfully negotiated new contracts for captain Patrick Vieira and midfielder Robert Pires. The stability of the squad meant Arsenal were considered front-runners for the Premier League title, along with Manchester United, and Chelsea who were taken over by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
  A strong start to the season saw Arsenal top the league table after four matches.
context_section_description: A day after the Leicester City match, Arsenal paraded the Premier League trophy on an open-top bus, in front of more than 250,000 fans. The victory parade commenced at Highbury and ended at Islington Town Hall. At the town hall balcony, Vieira addressed the crowd: "It has been a fantastic season. We achieved something unbelievable but we couldn't have done it without the fans." In an interview with the BBC, Dein added: "We've seen history made and I'd be surprised if it happens again. It's just been a privilege to watch Arsenal this season."
  Arsenal's achievement of going through the league season unbeaten received considerable praise from those involved in football. Derek Shaw, the chairman of Preston offered his congratulations as they equalled his club's record of completing a league season without defeat, set 115 years previously. Brazilian Roberto Carlos likened Arsenal's style of play to "samba football" while Michel Platini applauded the team's "great flair and spirit". Former Arsenal manager George Graham attributed the success to defensive improvements, since mistakes the previous season had proved costly and former striker Alan Smith felt the team were "certainly the best Highbury's ever seen". 
  The British press unanimously praised Arsenal's feat once the season drew to a close; the News of the World branded the team as "Immortals", while The Sunday Times led with the headline "Arsenal the New Invincibles". In an otherwise positive reflection of Arsenal's season, Glenn Moore wrote for The Independent: "There may thus have been some truth in Arsène Wenger's declaration that Arsenal's achievement was a greater triumph than winning the Champions' League. Arsenal's prolonged celebrations reflected the scale of this landmark and yet, when they reflect in the summer break, how many players will agree with Wenger?".
  A one-off golden replica trophy was commissioned by the Premier League thereafter; it was awarded to Arsenal before their first home game of the following season. The team eclipsed the league record of 42 matches without defeat (set by Nottingham Forest) against Blackburn Rovers and went seven more matches unbeaten until they lost – away to Manchester United in October 2004. Although Arsenal regained the FA Cup – on penalties against United – they finished second to Chelsea in the league. The move to the Emirates Stadium in 2006 coincided with a transitional phase for the club. Several experienced first teamers were displaced in favour of youth and the style of football shifted more towards ball retention. Arsenal have since failed to regain the league title; they nevertheless remained a fixture in the Champions League under Wenger's stewardship in the years after.
  The title win at White Hart Lane came third in a list of Arsenal's Greatest 50 Moments, and the performance at the San Siro was ranked tenth. In 2012, the Arsenal team of 2003–04 won the "Best Team" category in the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards.
caption: The Premier League commissioned a unique gold trophy to commemorate Arsenal's achievement.
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 6", "Image Orientation": "Rotated 90 CW", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "8.1.1", "Image DateTime": "2015:01:03 11:39:07", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "204", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[51, 33, 927/50]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[0, 6, 1543/50]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "407777/9709", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[11, 39, 477/100]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "31513/213", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "50832/155", "GPS GPSDate": "2015:01:03", "Image GPSInfo": "1596", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1980", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "10000", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/15", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:01:03 11:39:07", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:01:03 11:39:07", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2270/581", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7983/3509", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "-708/2035", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 1795, 1077]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "347", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "347", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "29", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2"}