The fall of the Arsenal Invincibles discussed by Thierry Henry, Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher

[@lil_croissant7295]

This never would have happened if they kept Jeremy Swaz Lynch the best player on the ball at arsenal.

[@snackattude]

Straight facts

[@ismailmiah1446]

Who

[@kikistillfly]

Exactly. Especially at only age 15!!!!!! He was better than the first team.

[@bertieward9495]

@Stuntman Mike Mr swazzerz you know the guy that's getting a lambo

[@gnvx1134]

Swaz tekkers mate better than the first team when he was 15

[@tanayvardam4823]

The reason for the fall: They dint replace Patrick Vieira. Its been 14 years now.

[@daf676]

no one can replace patrick vieira

[@sn3ification]

Didn't *

[@565656gooner]

15 years. He left in 05

[@Topsey2000]

@Tanay Vardam Smart man....

[@shikhardubey1056]

Thomas Partey is coming Finally

[@aymaanchowdhury81]

Arsene used to get them top 4 with a terrible squad year in year out. And the fans forced him out. Now top 4 is all they dream about achieving.

[@kennyc2281]

We want more than top 4. We want to be a champion again. Its hard now, but hopefully we can gather it back once again. Hopefully become another liverpool in the next years.

[@AnkitKshatriya]

Arsene is a legendary manager who got us top 4 with such low amount of investment. The Emirates stadium is his gift to the arsenal fans. However, he did become a bit stale in terms of ideas near the end of his career. Kudos to Arsene for bearing the brunt of arsenal fans who did not know the challenges he faced behind the scenes. ARsene - ARteta - ARclub - ARsenal

[@arsenalmanic]

His last 2-3 years he didn't get top 4, and Arsenal want CL, and PL, not top 4. Now other clubs have invested heavy, so even top 4 has become challenging

[@ofiehoward3308]

Arsene one of the most disrespect managers imo He Produced great players and played stylish football He definitely on par with Sir Alex when comes to being amongst the best coaches in that era

[@rexlongfellow]

They'd kill for a Champions League spot now...at least Arteta has improved things slightly.

[@healthaton]

1:58 that moment when the frenchman has to help the englishman find the right english word.

[@noelrockz1]

I think he was tryna put it mildly, when Henry suggested “sympathy” he just took it up

[@ragedapeevo7560]

The moment when the English have to come and save the French in world wars. Oh wait 2x now :P

[@sn3ification]

@@ragedapeevo7560 as an Englishman, this is one of the most pathetic and poor responses I have ever seen. Well done, you silly twat

[@splinter360]

Stupid comment.

[@ragedapeevo7560]

|The fact you had to add "as an Englishman" and go against your own country for a silly comment from me shows you're not English. Your response to my response was dire.

[@Sri-wg3ne]

I have never seen a superstar player as humble as Thierry. Man, just look at how he pays attention to Neville.

[@KeithHiew]

Neville’s a good pundit. And he was playing in the best opposing team. But yes, very good attitude from Thierry.

[@jacob2710123]

I met him at ar arsenal game and went over for a photo. Not only did we have a photo he was engaging and spoke to me for about 5 minutes. Absolute legend

[@liampowell5014]

Probably partly because Neville played for United.

[@andrewmwanyalo5827]

@@KeithHiew Absolutely unlike Roy Keane.

[@marwanhisham233]

Henry was not humble at all when he used to play.

[@rickvangils100]

One of the most straightforward, honest to god conversations i've seen. Neville and Henry nail it and point out a key area about the slow decline of arsene wenger. Wenger got tricked into thinking modern football is all about young, technically gifted player with alot of talent. He failed to realize that a huge factor in winning is having players who are strong, physical, imposing and who have a rock-solid winning mentality. He dipped way too deep into players who are very talented footballers, but weak both mentally and physically. I think Ozil is pretty much the tell-tale player in this transition.

[@pradhan2008]

I dont agree ... Pep won the league twice with a record tally of points without the so-called strength and power players. Wenger failed to coach the team to defend well without the ball.

[@mrlace4776]

@@pradhan2008 pep had kompany, toure and co

[@ktrein3729]

Pradhan he had Kompany !

[@SimbaLFC]

@@pradhan2008 but pep had players on the pitch who had the winning mentality and a strong one too. What the OP is talking about isn't who can bench press the most, he's talking about players that put their body on the line

[@ChipsAndCurd]

@eoe123321 Busquets not so much ... Barca are not physically strong (they were mentally) but a well drilled team on a certain philosophy. Also add that La Liga referees then was more strict on fouls than in England.

[@ziudra91]

Gary "Why did Arsenal and Arsene change the profile of player?" Henry "Fabregas changed how Arsene set a team up and the way he thought about football" Gary "I can't understand why they didn't buy stronger players" Henry "Fabregas changed how Arsene looked at football..." Gary "I don't understand why they didn't buy stronger players" MY GOD...

[@NobleArch]

tbf, Henry didnt know what was in Arsene mind and what happened in board room. Its all speculation regarding Fabregas because thats how Henry felt in those seasons with Fabregas in the squad.

[@ziudra91]

@@NobleArch I know, but my god. Henry just told Gary what he thought and Gary kept asking the same question...

[@marshallarjuna4072]

@@NobleArch sorry im not from england.. may i know what speculation about fabregas that you mention

[@Insertnamehere287]

Meor Safuan I believe Wenger saw what Barcelona were doing (playing with small players, passing the ball around, less physical players) and tried to emulate that after the invincibles. Clearly didn't work. Problem is wenger didn't know when to stop buying those types of players.

[@realist1641]

@Cylenium It did answer the question. Teams must have balance between physicality and technical ability. Wenger bought smaller technical players instead of physically strong ones. While Chelsea bought a combination of both, same goes with United, City and Liverpool now.

[@0817475295]

and later on gary moved to valencia and become a legendary manager

[@Joebay707]

🤣 lmafo

[@raphael7373]

Yap he is a tactician 😂😂

[@rutvikrs]

I can't cook. Does not stop me from saying the food is shit.

[@raphael7373]

@@rutvikrs true 😂😂 but if you are not a doctor why would you give medical advice 🤣

[@mufc20timesbitches36]

But Gary won double the premier leagues than Arse

[@mattmc1234]

the admin of this channel is a living legend

[@JM-jb9wk]

@@WakaWaka2468 na man. Credit where credits due.

[@George-gg4pb]

@@JM-jb9wk as in credit for uploading archives : /

[@auditormwangi805]

Why?

[@Hieillua]

For doing his job posting classic content?

[@Hamzalovesarsenal]

Innit

[@davyanilhaq2465]

RIP REYES 🙏🙏🙏

[@hollymccarthy4701]

Mad to think he died.. so sad. Rip Reyes 🙏

[@guapetina9734]

@Ddhfacetyy do what

[@bigfishke7100]

Ddhfacetyy it wasn’t a highway he was speeding inside the city

[@kragger1985]

Damn I forgot about that. Rip mate. I rember seeing you first play for arsenal thinking wow I wish Liverpool had signed him

[@SirPeter6464]

Wenger knew lightweight flair when he saw it. His strength. RIP.

[@peeper2070]

In the middle, we saw them discussing Arsenal’s poor recruitment. What is amazing is how, since 2017, we have made fantastic signings for big money, even being able to replace the irreplaceable Sanchez just a fortnight later. Yet we didn’t go from 2nd to 1st after 2015-16, we went from 2nd to 5th to 8th in 5 years,

[@dimitriostriantopoulos1726]

sometimes you have to take 1 step back to make 2 steps forward. arsenal over the years were making no steps and towards the end of the wenger reign it felt like 1 step back each season. You see Spurs with 7-8 out of 11 starters playing consistently in the last 5 years and the year after the ucl final with the newest stadium in europe, a fantastic new training facility and the highest net spend in the top 5 leagues were worse off in the 2019-20 season. Sometime things take time to gel

[@jagmaharesi2486]

@one indian boy rent free

[@goodebening6564]

Tell me who are the fantastic players apart from auba leno

[@calummacwilliam5337]

Which isn’t surprising because even when finishing 2nd they weren’t challenging for the league. To put it simply the style of play is the problem, you have too many technical players and are more concerned about looking good on the eye rather than winning football matches. This has been going on for over 10 years, it’s just that now all the other teams have gotten a lot stronger and arsenal have been left behind because they are stuck in their ways.

[@jagmaharesi2486]

@@goodebening6564 tierney

[@ibrahimalbutaihi3241]

They forgot that United was playing with Tevez, Rony and Ronaldo when Wenger had chamach and Bentner as his best atrackers.

[@TheNorwegianSkillerHD]

arsenal did also have Van Persie and Adebayor at that time

[@martinpardede5748]

@@TheNorwegianSkillerHD you're seriously comparing van persie and adebayor to tevez/rooney/ronaldo?

[@rahulhaque26]

@@martinpardede5748 Van Persie and Adebayor were quite prolific. Arsenal had game, what they lacked was a couple of dominant defensive players, a CB, a proper CDM and a better GK from challenging United and Chelsea

[@ashleythomas4112]

That never actually happened. Bendtner and Chamakh were never our best attackers at any point, Chamakh didn't even sign for Arsenal until 2010, the year after Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez last played together at Utd. Anyway, Van Persie was our best forward then, shame he was always injured. Everyone saw how great he was once he got 2 years or so without injuries.

[@jamiestewart48]

Eduardo looked incredible till the injury too,

[@Chouda04]

Watching Thierry Henry’s analysis is great. Shame he left Sky to manage Montreal Impact.

[@JordynNexus]

Chouda04 is it a shame? I think it’s great that he’s moving on with his career.

[@sokukenable]

Chouda04 His ambition is management not pundit, why is it shameful? We should wish him all the best and luck.

[@ImYourHuckleberry_29]

I think Thierry is a bad pundit and so far he's stunk as a manager

[@pisstakecentral]

@@JordynNexus I think he was just making a simple remark about how he will miss his opinions at sky...

[@duchieupham9384]

he's back

[@invincible0463]

I started watched football 06/07 season. Only got to see 1 season of henry which he was injured alot but still scored some ridiculous bangers. Greatest player arsenal will ever have. Sad I didnt watch his whole career

[@essj3334]

One of the key reasons Arsenal were unable to rebuild was because they lost key players like Vieira, Edu, Keown, Camball and were unbale to rebuild the spine. Arsenal team couldn't compete with Chelsea's riches so had to keep putting youngsters in the starting line up so they lost thier status in the league as a title contender. Another major factor was Arsenal had to pay of thier stadium debt so they had to keep selling thier best players to rivals and foreign teams to generate funds. Teams around Arsenal got stronger and figured out how to play against them so Wenger's style of play became predictable and beatable.

[@terah101]

The Arsenal team from 2007 to 2010 was actually quite decent. They had one of the best midfields in the league and played the best football during that period too. However, the goalkeeper and the two centre back positions are what cost them. Not having a fully fit striker that could play & score week in and week out didn't help either.

[@MrKingoverall]

Poor defending and not being physical enough cost Arsenal big time.

[@doncarloancelotti2256]

@Ayoo in 2011 they were the only team who HAD A RESPONSE to that seemingly unbeatable Barca. But ofc UEFA likes aiding Spanish teams so they found a way to squeeze blood(y red card on Van Persie) out of a rock

[@danymuembo9238]

@Ayoo are you kidding. There were two fouls in Barca's 18 yard that busacca didn't call out. Rewatch van persie's offside kick and tell me how that red card was justified. Even if you believe it was justified, the game was no longer fun to watch after the card. I bet you blindly defend S. Busquets dive against inter Milan.

[@danymuembo9238]

@Ayoo Looool Bousquets received a hand to the NECK not the FACE. And it was a gentle touch. Football is a game of contact. By your logic if a player accidentally bumps into another while competing for the ball he should be given a yellow... by heck by your logic players should not even make any contact. This disqualifies Bergkamp's goal against Newcastle, as he touched the defender or Henry's goal vs. Real Madrid as he also competed by shoving the defender aside. See I lack respect for fans who wouldn't admit something that is unfair

[@danymuembo9238]

@Ayoo Hey if RVPs card was justified, what of the foul against Diaby and Wilshere in the 18 yard box? The referee never called for it. Admit it, the game was rigged. BTW, Drogba (I think it was against man U,) kicked a ball after the whistle... and he wasn't given any card. Yet here you are Justifying a wrong call and a clearly rigged game. Looool...

[@MichaelHolmgaard]

Arsenal was terrifying at Highbury. Loved watching them play at that stadium. Such a great atmosphere

[@mikenijboer1292]

Wenger was such a great coach, they could sell a few great players every season. They bought a few young and relatively cheap players, a few broke through from the Arsenal youth. Wenger was able to make a team again

[@bencipriani]

Thierry Henry - what a gentleman with his hand gesture

[@jamiemckell34]

Hmm imaginenof they had signed Yaya Toure, would have been different. However, the 'dimunitive' midfielders is not the problem, Barcelona managed fine and so have many diminutive midfielders before and since like David Silva. It is simply Wenger trusted in his younger players, and gave them the chance. He gave chances to players that other big clubs wouldn't sign. Wenger gave the chances to very inexperienced and unproven players constantly, and turned them into brilliant players. He kept faith and made the names of Vieira, Anelka, Henry, Adebayor, Nasri, Giroud, Van Persie, Fabergas, Song & many more. The sad thing is, his best players kept leaving before he could build a winning team... He needed to keep them and then add the few extra jigsaw pieces.. but Fabregas, Song, Adebayor, Nasri and even Van Persie all left. It is a shame.

[@topboy2151]

Is is exactly their point, those players at their young age will never win you the title, when they were matured and experienced enough to win the title what happened? The club sold them and that is why Arsenal don't deserve sympathy only the fans

[@jamiemckell34]

@@topboy2151 No, they don't deserve sympathy, they deserve respect and admiration, or at least Arsene Wenger does. Not many clubs are more successful than Arsenal, they are in the top 2-3% of clubs worldwide. Also, not many clubs fans get to enjoy the huge success of the Vieira years, and less enjoy seeing such talents as Henry, Bergkamp, Pires & co for several seasons at their stadium. Even in the years of Adebayor, Van Persie, Wilshere & Giroud... Arsenal played some of the most smooth and beautiful football worldwide, and all while not being able to financially compete with mega rich owners (Chelsea/Man.City) or the top tier powerhouse clubs (Man.Utd/Barca/Real). I suppose the shame or sympathy you refer to is, perhaps the club could have had some more success like the previous years, they came close several times. This is always going to be a hard ask, no club has the right to win and doing so with less resources is always difficult. However, that is not the be all and end all, Wenger's reign at Arsenal evolved the english game, and the english style.of football, helped make the Premier League a global brand with Global superstars (e.g. Henry). He did this largely developing players, teaching and nurturing them. Other clubs often purchased finished articles, Wenger polished and created them. Wenger was a blessing to Arsenal football club, a true gentleman of great character and fortitude, and a credit to the Premier League, English and world football. The Professor is a legend of the game, and an inspirational man.

[@praz7]

Wenger dropped out of top 4 because he lost the dynamism in midfield in his latter years. With Koscienly losing his pace and departure of mertesacker, he bought Mustafi, he bought Granit xhaka who was not an arsene wenger type of player. His poor recruitment in 3 years caused his team to fall out of top 4. Another reason is arrival of the legendary Wolfgang Frank's philosphy in premier league, "Gegenpressing" which is like an antithesis to possession football that Wenger liked. That's where he needed to adapt again.

[@StriderDSC]

You can't forget as well that the board were in the process of trying to build the Emirates and needed funds to do so, so selling their best players and breaking up of that team directly led to the new stadium. After that when Kroenke came in, they had a strict wage cap and outright refused to talk new contracts with their best players which led to them leaving and led to the general belief that Arsenal were not interested in titles. What Arsene was able to do was absolutely phenomenal and the only thing that could be taken away from him was his last few years when he had some bad recruitment, but he wasn't helped by the board whatsoever. David Dein leaving changed absolutely everything as well. Wenger took the fall for the boards lack of desire to make them the best club in England, which with their history, size, and fanbase, they absolutely SHOULD be.

[@jamiemckell34]

@@StriderDSC Well, no club SHOULD be anything, it is a competitive sport, and for fans to like it, we need competition. However, you are spot on about David Dein, and especially the boards stance afterwards. As an exaggerated example, it's like blaming Sean Dyche for not signing Kai Havertz... Not really his fault.

[@nazeemameen1253]

Flamini-Fabregas CM partnership worked great for Arsenal in the 07/08 season. A combative Flamini with creative Fabregas, Hleb and Rosicky formed a great midfield for them with Van persie and Eduardo upfront.

[@jeannotschumacher1024]

Hleb and rosicky should never ever have been bought. Clear cut for me at that time and as a gooner. Plus Arsène never had a clue when it came to defensif play at a block. Yes he brought in sol and kolo both superb players for us but look at the whole picture. Bar Flamini we never ever had a good defensif midfielder. So the 4 defenders oftenly had to work on their own. I remember 1997 98 when Tony said that he couldn't do it anymore and that the back 4 had no protection at all from the midfield. That was the key moment...the rest is history. But from 2004 on this mentality was gone. No more keown no more parlour gilberto also to old. Game over. Ufortunately.

[@hon_lordthanatos]

@@jeannotschumacher1024 Well, we had 2 GREAT defensive midfielder under Wenger, both of them brought us trophies. Manu Petit and Gilberto Silva. I think it was because of his obsession with possession football (to play like Barcelona), we never bought another proper defensive midfielder.

[@jeannotschumacher1024]

@@hon_lordthanatos absolutely agree. I loughed my socks of when i saw the main page of a "gooner" from that time titling: snow white and the 7 dwarfs. Absolutely spot on😅

[@TinyShoken]

OMG Pleaseee upload the clip of when twitter asked Henry who was harder to face "Neville or Carragher" and Neville showed an old clip where Henry breezed past Carragher XD

[@fubusupporter5933]

💀💀💀

[@Utomoghani]

@Ddhfacetyy what's the video title?

[@Utomoghani]

@Ddhfacetyy cheers mate

[@ddawg415]

I literally watched the video earlier today.

[@bhew7409]

@Ddhfacetyy not only hasnt it been uploaded Sky blocked the link...

[@andyng5321]

invincibles were not just strong physically, they were strong mentally as well, the batch after them were not strong mentally and physically. Mental in soccer is at least as important as, if not, even more important than physical.

[@andyng5321]

Mental in soccer is at least as important as, if not, even more important than physical.

[@ogbmt]

Arsenal definitely had players after the invincibles who were strong mentally and physically, they just weren't the same players. Not counting Kolo Toure because he was an invincible, the only ones I can think of would be Sagna, Diaby, Wilshere and Giroud. They also didn't have enough leadership on the pitch after Vieira, Henry etc. had left.

[@merrymonarch]

Injury after that injury as well

[@andyng5321]

@@merrymonarch injury to who?

[@merrymonarch]

@@andyng5321 lots of their players got injured in that time period as well

[@itsallgood8347]

As a Tottenham supporter, I can easily say, that when we gave Arsenal a tough game at home during the Vieira period, it was him that made the biggest difference to their result. Yes, Henry, and often Pires, would score, but it was Vieira who got a grip of the midfield. You get about 8 PL games a year like that. That's 24 points you have a much lower chance of getting.

[@happynightz]

It's amazing how even with losing all those players and poor signings Wenger still got arsenal to the champions league every year.

[@jeannotschumacher1024]

Hein!?? There were only 4 proper teams at that time.

[@defeatstatistics7413]

@@jeannotschumacher1024 he got a team with Bendtner and Squillaci into the CL man, come on

[@jeannotschumacher1024]

@@defeatstatistics7413 arsènd wenger had zero tactical nouse. He was regularly found out and was to stuborn or stupid to change or at least learn to change his only plan A. And that went on for 10, yes 10 years!!! Imagine.

[@Appuneneh]

Arsenal and United was the Rock and Austin. 2 dominating giants.

[@husbaanmallick8415]

But arsenal only won 3 league titles as compare to United manyy during Ferguson's and Wenger eraa

[@Appuneneh]

@Troy Krentz good times

[@LaportaElPresi]

I would say that liverpool and united are the rock and austin. Arsenal is more like undertaker and spurs is "kane". Chelsea is cena cuz everybody hates him

[@s1050]

Lmao wish Arsenal turned heel, joined with Vince McMahon to screw Man Utd out of the championship at Wrestlemania

[@chiragsood4668]

The Rock is the best and 🐐,so is arsenal,the invincibles

[@EP_1990]

I think Flamini was brilliant for us in that 07/08 season. He was also good in our run to the CL final in 2006.

[@ajhd2005]

I can't speak for all Arsenal fans, but I know that after those amazing years at the start of the 2000s, losing Patrick Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp (retired), Ashley Cole, Lauren & Sol in ONE SEASON, then Thierry, Freddie & Reyes going in the next season... I don't think I've ever forgiven the club for giving up like that. Since then, the acquisition of average players became a thing and we began to set our sites lower than they were. We know you can't just go and get a Patrick or Thierry, obviously, but to not even try was gut-wrenching for sure, especially when - as they said, Utd were improving, Chelsea were improving, etc. It was at that time the board showed their priorities - almost as if they said "well we've done that now, so the fans'll be happy - let's see how much value we can get out of these guys now" and became top 4 merchants to get the UCL money. Problem is, when you aim for 4th instead of 1st, you can falter out of that top 4, and now we are where we are: on a downward slope. Here's hoping that Arteta can make it right.

[@realist1641]

Spot on 🔴⚪

[@sushantbhandari7948]

Exactly. Forget about replacing Vieira and Henry. Not replacing Lehman, Campbell makes me angry the most. FFS we had Almunia in goal and Senderos, Djourou, Squillaci in CB. A decent gk, cb didn't cost 50m back in those days. Could have addressed that position with 15m in total. I respect father Wenger but I will not forgive him for not addressing the weak areas of the team.

[@cddb5408]

@Adam Dunkley Vieira left a season before Bergkamp, Cashley, Campbell, Lauren & Pires.

[@guillezorro]

In a nutshell, weak characters who didn't want to put in the elbow grease, players who went missing at crucial times were the guys who embodied Wenger's final decade at the club

[@jammydodger6932]

Well said

[@SuperDangerousMouse]

@@jammydodger6932 not the money? Alex Song? Abou Diaby? Gilberto (stayed there for a little).

[@jammydodger6932]

THE WALKING BLUES The whole team tbh. UCL campaigns under Wenger were terrible. That 15/16 season after Xmas was disgraceful. At the very least they turned up in the fa cup and gave Wenger a few more trophies🤷🏽‍♂️ still not good enough though

[@MESSI-fx1ob]

I don’t even think it’s that. It’s about money at the end of the day wenger never had a strong team at the new stadium there will always 2 or 3 stars that carried the whole team but around was dog shit if wenger had half the budget of Chelsea or city he would have won many Leuges

[@SuperDangerousMouse]

@@MESSI-fx1ob I agree. Of course, it's speculation, but it's not far-fetched because he was always getting Arsenal in the top 4 with an anemic budget.

[@sn3ification]

Thinking they needed a big stadium to be a big club. Highbury was special.

[@kashattack]

It's about the money. Highbury was special but tiny. Emirates holds almost double the number Highbury did.

[@kr4559]

G Nev hits the nail on the head EXACTLY what I’ve been saying since arsenal left Highbury. Why change a winning formula?? “Small weak minded players” replacing big strong leaders. This is why I hate the move because it was never about the team it was about the cash. At Highbury we were winners. Ever since it’s been small and weak.

[@pauljansen6650]

Are you calling Fabregas a weak minded player? Gary Neville is just upset because he's got about 8% of Cesc's talent and ability...

[@rohithraman6488]

Anniversary of the Battle of Old Trafford (2003) when Keown shouted in RVN's face

[@M-E_123]

I've always said this - Arsene Wenger won the league and built the invincibles by signing experienced, established players (Viera, Petite, Campbell, Henry Ljungberg etc). He also took players who were considered to be past their best and reinvigorated and extended their careers (pretty much all of the Arsenal players he inherited plus signings like Overmars and Kanu). Then he got a reputation in the press for developing youth (seemingly off the back of Anelka, Manninger and Cole). And from there his philosophy changed as he started to believe his own hype - he was spending £10m+ on youth team players when he needed to be buying established players with experience to replace what he lost under Arsenals suicidal contract policy of not giving players over 30 more than 1-2 year contracts. But no one ever questioned why his philosophy changed, why he started targeting a completely different type of player to those that had brought him success). Good video.

[@timothytimothy213]

Agreed. Barca got into his head after the 2006 final. Started buying those type of small technical players and changed his philosophy. That fucked us over big time

[@zGraeme]

Henry wasn’t experienced or established when he signed for Arsenal?

[@M-E_123]

@@zGraeme he was France's top goalscorer in the 98 World Cup? He was only 20 and didn't play in the final, but he wasn't exactly unknown when Wenger signed him at the start of the 99-00 season. Before that he was France's young player of the year in 96-97 season and scored 7 during Monaco's run to the Semi-finals of the Champions League in 97-98, then top scorer in the France 98 squad that was packed with legends. Henry wasn't quite as established as some of Wengers other early buys but Henry he was a long way from being a youth team player like Walcott, Ramsey or Oxloide-Chamberlaine - who all got phased in playing League Cup games for a couple of years. Henry was bought to go straight into the first team & had the instant impact of scoring 26 goals in his first season with Arsenal.

[@DavidLucian]

Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho are by far my favorite living football legends, they are the reason I fell in love with football in the first place, they are part of my childhood... Henry should have won at least one or two ballon d'or in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, he was so unique and underrated back then, he was almost unstoppable and genuinely a very good all-rounder authentic player. ☯️✌️

[@ryanh.6487]

The Invincibles remind me of Monaco's team in 2016 (Bakayoko, Lemar, Silva, Mendy and of course Mbappe) They were promising, in UCL's semi-finals and could have been the best team in Europe for the next 5 years. But then, all of them left the club...

[@kamerjameel9610]

Gary Neville still salty after Reyes nutmegged him twice in a game, and ran circles around him in the charity shield same year. #RIPReyes

[@rcmanization]

imagine if wenger had built a team around Fábregas without going for smaller players in all the other positions. A mix between old and new, in terms of physicality, would've been perfect.

[@n6T4]

When Wenger came to Arsenal he inherited a good back 5. He also knew about all the prospects especially from France with his French connection. France has a good group of talent around that time. Wenger had influence, so even when Alelka came and left he had Henry in mind. Henry was the best striker at the time and was irreplaceable. Arsenal from 1997 to 2008 was competitive. They had a very good United team to compete with late 90s early 2000. The buying a new stadium came at a really bad time. With Roman buying Chelsea and injecting hundreds of millions into the club, at that time Arsenal was losing players. Even before the stadium Arsenal lost players to Barcelona like Marc Overmars, Petite, Silvinho, Van Bronchost. So can't say it was 100% cause of the stadium but the stadium was a big factor. Along with new competition from Chelsea and the billionaires who buys clubs and inject alot of money. Hard for Arsenal to compete on and off the pitch.

[@craigackroyd]

All I hear is you moaning about money. Klopp won the league whilst spending 7 mil. Lol

[@realist1641]

@@craigackroyd You are thick. That's why a simple explanation is considered moaning. Klopp *sold* Coutinho and got the likes of VVD, and Alison. Its not like he walked the league over night. He built hid team over a sustained period.

[@claudemakelele2856]

I see you keep mentioning Abrahimovich and bla bla bla. Keep moaning while we keep winning trophies.

[@jamiemckell34]

Good comment, it is very hard for a club to win trophies when losing their best players every couple of seasons. And to those calling this moaning, stop being fools, he is making a point that money makes a difference. Show me the premier league titles Man City or Chelsea won before the billions and you may change my mind...

[@chandler5312]

Can already tell your a salty Arsenal fan jealous of Chelsea success for the past 20 years lol. All I see is moaning about money. LOL.

[@benflanagan7354]

first. miss henry as a pundit hes brilliant

[@MashiatCOD99]

I think you mean "first and foremost".

[@paulb3428]

His english wasnt the best in formal conversations i thought

[@StephenCarrIsBald]

He was awful, so dull and kept pausing

[@gencberisha8633]

he was worse as a pundit than as a coach

[@MyNameIsJeff9074]

Great player, shocking pundit. (Arsenal fan)

[@tipsy3]

Caragher’s voice still cracks me up 😂

[@ulaytube9953]

There was a lot of issues following this season...the change of the stadium, issues with upper management, the growing need for financial prowess, the loss of Jeremy Lynch...they all came together

[@Sss-on2bv]

Viera and Gilberto in the middle were never replaced. Still having issues all these years later in the middle

[@codpro627]

What's happened at Arsenal over the past 14 years has been disgraceful.

[@Since-fb8gx]

True.. Only if we have a owner that is interested in football and not NFL then we will be able to challenge for the League Title again.. The Kroenke are trash.. Arsenal deserved a better owner

[@avikarsewpersad9856]

Banter FC 😂😂😂

[@SheffKhalid]

Thierry really trying to put Cesc Fàbregas signing and implementation to our midfield is lazy interpretation tbh.

[@chrisnenshati7400]

2020 was a good year for Arsenal

[@tallchief22]

It’s changing now it’s a new era with Arteta

[@Breezy_-446]

Imagine if Diaby stayed fit.... I used to be scared every time he went in for a tackle

[@johnrockyryan]

Not only him mate Many of our important players were injured

[@SAIJANGAMINGHD]

“Turned Arteta into a midfield player” “Played Ramsey in midfield when he’s a wide player” Is Neville good? I’m sure Arteta always played midfield and Ramsey was pushed out onto the wing but was always naturally a midfielder

[@Ron.S.]

Antonio Reyes an amazing signing! RIP

[@deebee3424]

4:10 The template is money. Jose was a chequebook manager

[@gm2407]

My friend's opinion (a life long arsenal fan) was that Arsenal's transfers were never the same quality after David Dein was forced out. Dein was the one who was the deal maker and responsible for transfers, he left in 2007. Dein was the major factor in Wenger being appointed as manager. The transfers profile changed after Dein left. Your Director of Football in all but name being vice chairman and in charge of transfers.

[@ajjoel3025]

Funny how Neville can't get his head around anything. But it makes sense looking at his coaching career.

[@frizm1543]

Thierry Henry always brings the quality analysis.

[@DansFilmFiles]

Thierry Henry needs an ASMR KZbin channel, his voice is so relaxing 😂

[@dre8463]

Diaby was probably the closest player in the mould of Vieira that Wenger bought in. The problem was due to the style of play Wengers teams had and the attitude refs and teams had towards us, damn near all of our players was getting long term injuries on a regular basis. ‘Arsenal don’t like it up em’ was the term, like what team does? Teams would purposely go hard in the tackles on us to stop us playing. Ramsey, Walcott, Van Persie, Ox, Wilshere, Rosicky, Eduardo, Diaby, Cazorla, Coquelin, Koscielny, Vermealen etc all experienced this. How can you win the league if your key players are constantly out injured for months because of this problem?

[@NobleArch]

You might be right.

[@dre8463]

Noble Arch it’s true, this was well known. Ever since Man Utd kicked us off the park at Old Trafford ending the undefeated run (only God knows how United didn’t escape with 8-9 men on the pitch that night), this was a regular occurrence. ‘The only way to stop Arsenal is to kick Arsenal’ - Arsene Wenger after Eduardo’s career ruining injury in Birmingham 2008.

[@Lucky777Ent]

Such a true point no one talks about this.. the refs really hated and bullied us a lot at arsenal after some key players left.

[@dre8463]

dozz87 man, I don’t even need to go into it with you. A former Stoke player even admitted this recently. That was the aim of many teams in the league at that time.

[@Rocksteady365mac]

Diaby never had Vieira’s aggression or leadership

[@yoloaman]

This would have never happened if Arsenal board hadn’t wasted the money on a new stadium

[@thewarlock539]

Nah, Kroenke should have dug deep into his pocket so that the issues of the stadium did not affect our spending. his stingyness has cost us BIG time.

[@AaMz112]

I wasn’t sure if Partey should be our priority over someone more creative, but this helped change my mind. if Arsenal could replace lacazette and sign zaha (nelson going the other way) then i’d take that. sign max aarons if bellerin leaves - would be a good investment. give willian and smith rowe ozil’s role this season and replace him once his contract expires next summer. we’ve made a net profit this window so surely we need to start investing properly like every other pl club?

[@d.s5508]

This is good and all but Kroenke needs to take his finger off his arse

[@cjbrazil6847]

This video is unreal. All 3 of them lads having a great conversation with no bias. gg

[@akshat_rweq]

After 2004, whenever Arsenal were close to challenge for the PL, we were just 2 or 3 players away, Wenger should have looked into it.

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

The stadium didn't just affect their finances, but also drastically altered the way they played and their old ability to mount the devastating counter-attacks that were Arsenal's hallmark of 2002-04. Vieira was not replaced, while Fabregas was good he didn't provide what Vieira did in midfield. Henry is absolutely right to mention him. Also that period coincides with the moment when Benitez and Mourinho arrived in England, suddenly the competition is a lot stronger than just Arsenal-United and you've got a very talented manager (Mourinho) who is also spending like crazy, with 2-3 good players in each position.

[@MiguelonZE]

England problem at every level is putting physically along side ability and teamwork

[@FJLit]

How Arsene kept them at Top 4 all those years, blows your mind doesn't it. Dont know what u have until he's gone but for a player/captain who played under him to bring them back up is passing on the torch and legacy in itself. would be a great story

[@Delete.9]

Eduarado was a beast before he got constantly injuries, he would’ve been the next Thierry

[@GunnerRDS]

He had his legged snapped in two

[@Dr-Barron]

Eduardo next Henry Van Persie next Bergkamp Hleb next Pires Nasri next Ljungberg Rosicky next Gilberto Fabregas next ???? It's the defensive line that Wenger never addressed. And the major injuries his players suffered. Wenger got depressed and arrogant thinking he could win with Djourou, Sagna etc.

[@peluolababatunde330]

@@Dr-Barron Sagna wasn't bad but Djorou

[@johnrockyryan]

Wenger had the next generation planned from 07/08 onward and he built this team with no money this team had soooo much potential but then the Eduardo injury happened and the rest is history Arsenal became a bottle club

[@tervenjames8305]

Love to hear Henry talk he knowns his stuff

[@Hieillua]

Weird. 1. I agree with the finances aspect. They indeed didn't have the money the other big clubs had, also due to building a new stadium. 2. I don't agree with the Fabregas opinion and playstyle critique. Football was changing. You just couldn't keep playing with a flat 442. All the teams in top football moved towards playing with 1 main striker, wingers became bigger scorers and the way the game was played just changed. If Wenger kept playing 442 he would've fallen even more down. He did the best he could with the recruitment he had and the money he had to spend. It also didn't help him that he kept losing players every time they slightly improved.

[@sebdude24]

100% look at midfielders now not many are over 6 foot thats just how the game is. Nobody bar burnley and Atleti play 442. Its just the evolution of football, theyre talking nonsense. Cazorla, Arteta and Fabregas were fantastic players

[@Hieillua]

@eoe123321 ''allowed'' ''didn't want to sign''. You missed the part in history where Arsenal didn''t have the funds to sign world class stadium and put all their money in a new stadium which tied their hands for years. And he can't force players to stay when contracts are threatened to run out.

[@showmicr]

@@sebdude24 of course they were fantastic players. And that's what frustrates Neville that they were not complemented by a rock solid DM. The likes of Flamini, Coquelin were lesser counterparts of Cazorla, Fabregas. He needed a Yaya Toure or even a Mashcherano or Matic alongside these players. I will admit it's much easier to say this in hindsight. Also as a counterpoint to my opinion, it's also interesting that Arsene was probably ahead of his time. Currently, Chelsea plays Jorginho, LFC will play Thiago, PSG Veratti/Paredes, Mancity Rodri None of these players really bring that physical dynamic but are rather players who control tempo and possess skill at the deep midfield role.

[@ralteh3390]

Watching Jamie and Henry next to each other reminds me of the time Henry almost broke his back without even touching him where Arsenal won 4-2 against Liverpool

[@lllancaste]

Henry was such a good pundit

[@sayansingha8474]

what's happened has happened, we as Arsenal fans can see some light under Mikel and we can see young players coming in, the mentality changing, and of course the rebuild takes years, but if there is any club that can go ahead and do that it is arsenal in our own and beautiful way. COYG!!

[@mnb9162]

They had a great team in 07/08...they really should have won the league... And thats coming from a United fan... They were so effecient but there were a couple of key injuries that distabilized them at a key time...Flamini was excellent that year... He then left on a free...

[@jeannotschumacher1024]

Exactly. Arsène never had estime for him . Tells you all. No real clue about the importance of a defense.

[@DanY-bs5fp]

The only Prem club I'd like to do well As a United fan. Liverpool Citys rivalry is pretty exciting but UTD ARS games were truly truly spectacular.

[@mmtsr8848]

Henry is spot on here, and Carragher and Neville don't know what they're talking about. He's not saying that Fabregas was the only mistake, he's saying building a team around him was the biggest mistake that caused all the other mistakes that followed. And he built a team around Fabregas that was similar, in style, to the system he came from at Barcelona - it just didn't work because they were hamstrung by the need to finance the stadium, and were left with choices that, in retrospect, weren't up to snuff.

[@Stephen_Platt]

Don’t think Carra and G Nev are stupid here. Looks to me like they’re struggling to comprehend how a man with the success and pedigree of Arsene Wenger managed to repeatedly fail to sign a Petit/Vieira/Gilberto type of midfielder year after year when it was such a crucial cog in his midfield. Henry seems to be pointing out that Wenger actually made that calamitous a mistake because he was fixated with the Fabregas-type players in midfield.

[@strollic5162]

Arsenal didn't play Barcelona type football, Barcelona at the time, played with a high-press...Wenger's Arsenal certainly didn't. Also, I don't buy the finances excuse either, you don't need to splash the cash around to recruit good players, just look at Liverpool. You need to make smart signings, Wenger, on the other hand, signed players like Senderos, Denilson, Abu Diaby and didn't coach them. Theo Walcott never improved under Wenger and Oxlade-Chamberlain improved as soon as Klopp started coaching him.

[@mmtsr8848]

@@Stephen_Platt Henry's first response was that they couldn't buy the quality they sought because they had to finance the new stadium. The discussion of Fabregas was in response to Neville's dense insistence that somehow the quality of players they did buy should be the equal of Man $hitty, Chelski, Man (F)U and Liverpool at 1/3 to 1/5 the cost? That's like saying, "I understand that it's asking a lot to race a Ferrari against a sports sedan, but the quality of the sports sedan you bought was so bad!"

[@mmtsr8848]

@@strollic5162 Barcelona's "high-press" is predicated on doing everything you can to have the ball because when you have it, your quality is superior to anyone you might play. That may be the case when you have the likes of Messi, Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta - but I can't name a single player Arsenal bought that could be compared to those 4. As for the finances: what one may call an excuse, another would call an explanation. Chelski repeatedly paid the highest prices for the players they brought in, whether they turned out to be the best or not. They could afford to gamble 50M on Fernando Torres to eventually find a Diego Costa. 20M on Yuri Zhirkov to eventually find an Eden Hazard. Net spending of 98M didn't give Wenger the freedom to ship players in and out as needed, so he built a team around a young, but very effective Cesc (Ghetto) Fabregas...unfortunately the team around him was cheap and (obviously) insufficient.

[@Tidus3960]

@@strollic5162 Liverpool aren't held back by debts like Arsenal were. Furthermore, Liverpool wouldn't be where they are now if not for Barca's obsession with Coutinho. The only thing that prevented Diaby from replacing Vieira was injury. Oxlade-Chamberlain has been doing nothing but ride on the success of Liverpool from the treatment table.

[@GarethE94]

Look at them all standing right beside each other without any worries 😔

[@Dude0000]

You’d never guess who the centre back was looking at these three stood together...

[@PeterSenderos]

I think Gary is misremembering a bit here. Flamini was amazing the season he played with fabregas and they played 442 (07/08). Flamini had to do the job of 2 but he had the engine to do it and they dominated the midfield in most games. Had flamini stayed at arsenal after that year (and not had the injuries) we'd 100% be talking about a Vieira type figure unquestionably. Initially Wenger only changed to a 433 because we ran out of central strikers that season but I think it's true after Flamini left no one could do the same job next to fabregas effectively and it became more of a necessity to play 2 other central midfielders. Overall the point is fair though - the mentality changed and we only seemed to spend money on attacking midfielders to compliment Cesc, never really went after top defenders.

[@ashleythomas4112]

Great point. Not getting Flamini to sign a new deal and then losing him for free was really bad. Not just that though but losing Gilberto and Diarra within 6 months of each other, and Flamini of course, and then not replacing then with anyone meant we went into the 2008-09 season with basically no decent defensive midfielders. Wenger really started to lose it then buying no DM to replace 3 departing ones.

[@coachhbosoccer]

The one character they needed to replace was Vieira. But Arsenal did very well those Fabregas years because they were in Europe, and paid off their stadium

[@robinlek7579]

Henry has exactly the some voice as Auba!

[@МаоЦзэдун-б5с]

Neville is right, we never signed powerful players with strong leadership skills after 2004

[@mrheru8627]

Thierry henry wow... Good Voice, Cool french accent and Great Insight

[@sebastianelytron8450]

Henry top 10 footballer of all time. Change my mind.

[@marko9463]

Sebastian Elytron I will not change your mind

[@Unusedname1234]

Pele, maradona, zidane, cruyff, ronaldo, Cronaldo, Messi, Ronaldinho, Zlatan. 9 who are better than him for sure. Tenth is debatable. I'd put xavi, iniesta, roberto carlos, Raul, Figo over him. Probably top 15 undebatable for me.

[@QNRArsenal]

@@Unusedname1234 don't get me wrong, Zlatan is phenomenal. But Thierry Henry is a vastly better player than Ibra

[@demiajibade183]

Nick Wee Henry >>> Zlatan

[@petermackinnon7551]

Pele, Garrincha, Didi, Di Stefano, Puskas, Eusebio, Riva, Moore, Charlton, Facchetti, Yashin, Best, Cruyff, Krol, van Henegem, Neeskens, Maier, Beckenbauer, Muller, Netzer, Breitner, Dalglish, Passarella, Zico, Scirea, Platini, Zoff, Maradona, van Basten, Gullit, Matthaus, Baresi, Maldini, Romario, Redondo, Ronaldo, Cafu, Rivaldo, Cannavaro, Thuram, Zidane, Nesta, Buffon, Ronaldinho, Riquelme, Casillas, Pirlo, Xavi, Iniesta, Eto’o, Marcelo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi

[@cnsaheen]

Henry is spot on about Cesc Fabregas, Arsene Wenger changed everything for him, he even gave him captaincy at a young age, but only for him to betray the great man, cesc departure made him others leave and destroyed one man's hardwork. I was a staunch Wenger critic, but not signing Cesc back was the best decision Wenger ever made.

[@ktrein3729]

Not a Wenger fan, but that man didn't get the respect he deserves bcoz of some stupid AFTV fans(troopz, DT, ...). I believe no other managers could do what he had done during those difficult years. I doubt those stupid people would become arsenal fans if it's not for Wenger 🤦‍♂️

[@logirex]

For me Wenger gets far too much respects. The team and players Wenger had including the invincible team was one of the best in the world in one of the biggest clubs in the world at the time. Final result 3 league wins in 22 years and zero european trophies. For me that is unacceptable result.

[@spectre3954]

Wenger clinged on to his postion for 2-3 years longer.....his style of play wasn't up to the mark anymore.....if u see ferguson left Man Utd at the right time.....Wenger just clinged on to his position for too long.......As an arsenal fan i consider Wenger the best manager the world has ever seen......but i believe at the end he left the club in a worst position than he had found it.......

[@ktrein3729]

logirex yes ! but how are you gonna win the European tropies with all those players after the 03/04 season ? They did have a few relevant players like Cesc, Van Persie, Rosicky, Nasri, and Sanchez but thats it. The others were not at the level to carry the team to the top to win European trophies.

[@francisdubem5084]

Very disrespectful comment, they are not stupid. They were rightfully angry and frustrated at failure. We consistently made the same mistakes and we never improved.

[@ktrein3729]

Dubem Udemezue How many respectful anger did they show towards wenger ? I don't have any obligation to respect them(disrespectful pack of barking dogs) anyhow 🤦‍♂️

[@bradleycjw]

The thing is we lost our backbone in defence and midfield. Our attack has always been stellar, end Wenger era and post Wenger. But our defence and midfield has been lacking. It’s as easy as that.

[@mackavelly2178]

We sold iwobi for 35m. Let that sink in, when you see the signings arsenal did during 04-09

[@thetruthk5138]

Who !!

[@josephcole8046]

They didn't actually lose anybody significant in the 04/05 season. Mourinho's Chelsea were just the better team out of the two. From 05/06, they started selling players.

[@Invinciblez18]

Part of the problem was resting on their laurels and that started with Wenger. Where as Fergie and United had that mentality of moving on to the next challenge I feel as if Wenger; as great as he was, was almost content with that unbeaten season. Once the run came to an end (which it was going to do eventually) there wasnt much of a plan B. Couple that with the disbanding of the squad (average age of 28 in May 2004) for the youth project it gradually went wrong...

[@theyeking7023]

Wrong.

[@oghaze9318]

The CL final against Barca changed everything, Wenger was obsessed with small nimble players instead of the physically dominant ones that Chelsea, City and currently even Bayern have in their squads.

[@Invinciblez18]

@@theyeking7023 so whats your hypothesis then?

[@theyeking7023]

Wenger bought a stadium, reached a cl final ,kept us in cl for the next 12 years and won three fa cups. This has no correlation with your assertion that Wenger was content with the invincibles and softened up.

[@Invinciblez18]

@@theyeking7023 you're already missing the whole point. Have you even read the title of the video? The question at hand is what happened to the Invincibles? Why you're bringing FA cups which took place a decade after, i'm not too sure. What did Arsenal win in the few years post invincibles? 1 FA cup. Yes the stadium played a part, but as we've seen that was soul-selling process so I have no sympathy when it comes to that

[@rickyf.ramliana4036]

in my opinion the fall of arsenal was because as fabregas himself said.. wenger was obsessed with young players and playing beautiful football.. its becoming more of an art than competition.. the type of player he bought in after building the emitates stadium shows that.. and he was as hard as a rock in his philosphy.

[@pkingglazersout6665]

Highbury had a different feel!!

[@bonesawarm6987]

Alberto no it’s not a super market

[@bonesawarm6987]

Pandurang I bet you have never been to a game..

[@ludogatari9558]

I'm a Chelsea fan. Sadly never got a chance to go to Highbury. I miss traditional grounds like that. Not many left these days. In away I'm happy our Stamford Bridge development has been put on hold.

[@saimj2208]

I think the point about Cesc combined with not having funds following the construction of the Emirates explains so much. Since Cesc arrived Wenger may have thought building around one key player was the needed evolution of arsenal - perhaps the only affordable evolution. Explains Ozil, Cazorla etc. Wenger thought he had cracked the next Arsenal (not to mention many were starting to ride the 433 wave post invicibles) but without the money to buy supporting acts for the likes of Cesc, arsenal went into decline.

[@realist1641]

Spot on.

[@NoName-sz5lu]

Coming from an united fan, It's simple. The stadium was built to generate money. And the owners do not care about trophies. They just want to use the brand. Built a stadium which would generate money. And just spend enough money to keep the club in a top 4 chase. It's happening it united as well, except they spend a bit more money as the stadium is okay in size. Their target is to keep the club in top 4. A bit more serious than arsenal. Use the brand. Earn revenue. No interest in winning big trophies.

[@Kamrul08]

These men know nothing. Cesc Fabregas was a leader and probably one of the best midfielders in the world from 2007-2011. He had Gilberto Silva, and then Flamini alongside him to great effect, but Flamini left on a free transfer at a time when Arsenal had financial problems. Arsene Wenger then had to replace from within due to a lack of funds. So he promoted both Alex Song and Denilson the first-team. Both were extremely average, Song was a defensive midfielder who couldn’t defend, and Denilson was too safe and lacklustre. Wenger did make a potential star signing during this time in Abou Diaby, who had great skill and balance on the ball and was a “ideal” Vieira successor, however, injuries ruined his Arsenal career. Aside from the midfield problems, Arsenal also did not replace Sol Campbell after 2006. Like Flamini and Vieira’s departures, Wenger again had to make do with small funds, and promoted Philippe Senderos and signed William Gallas for a small fee. Senderos had flashes of quality, but he suffered with mental health problems, whilst William Gallas’s temperament and attitude never worked well with others in the squad, especially Kolo Toure, the clubs best defender at the time. At left-back, Ashley Cole departed in 2006, and Wenger, again, promoted from within by putting Gael Clichy in the first-team. Clichy had pace and was good offensively, but lacked defensive skills and the one-on-one defending which Ashley Cole was famous for. Moving on to the goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann suffered from a severe lack of competition after the Champions League final, with Wenger’s 2nd choice keeper Manuel Almunia, an unknown Spaniard bought for a nominal fee. After Lehmann’s many mistakes, Wenger, again, promoted from within by putting Almunia in the first-team. Despite being unspectacular, Almunia had a couple of decent seasons, however, he too was very prone to the odd error which David Seaman and prime Jens Lehmann rarely made. Offensively, Arsene Wenger signed Tomas Rosicky, Alexander Hleb, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Eduardo, Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicklas Bendtner. Alexander Hleb left after just 3 seasons, which he cites as “the biggest mistake” of his career. Tomas Rosicky served Arsenal for 10 years, with his flashes of quality always hampered with long spells of injury. Theo Walcott served Arsenal for 12 years, but consistently struggled to define a position on the pitch, and failed to live up to his massive potential. Eduardo Da Silva, was signed as Thierry Henry’s replacement, and instantly lit up the Emirates with his superb finishing. However, just 6 months after joining, Eduardo suffered a devastating leg break, described as one of the worst ever on TV. Although he returned after a year out, Eduardo then departed 2 years later, never the same player. Emmanuel Adebayor was signed before Thierry Henry departed, and took inspiration from the Frenchman. He initially looked to have the skills required to emulate Henry, but temperament and attitude got in the way, and he departed in 2009. Robin Van Persie was signed in 2004 as a winger, however, Arsene Wenger converted him into a striker in 2008, with problems surrounding the position. Although the Dutchman had quality, he also had a lot of injuries, which he only got rid of later on in his career. Therefore, Arsene Wenger, again promoted from within by placing Nicklas Bendtner in the first-team. Bendtner, was commited but never clinical enough, and he also was forced out wide to accommodate Adebayor on occasion. With the departures of Hleb, and the injury problems of Rosicky and Walcott, Arsene Wenger finally spent big on Andrey Arshavin, a star playmaker at the peak of his powers. Arshavin took the Premier League by storm in 2009, memorably scoring 4 goals at Anfield, however, he often played on the left wing, as opposed to his No.10 role, as Cesc Fabregas was there. Never one to track back or help out defensively, Arshavin struggled out wide, and departed in 2012. Cesc Fabregas needed Abou Diaby or Mathieu Flamini with him. In defence, the club did not replace Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. William Gallas and Gael Clichy were significant downgrades. Kolo Toure deserved better. The club also needlessly shifted Emmanuel Eboue to the wing and signed Bacary Sagna, when that money could’ve been spent elsewhere. In goal, Jens Lehmann required genuine competition to rival him, he didn’t get that. Offensively, Eduardo and Van Persie had the ability to replace Thierry Henry, but their injury problems just didn’t let them. Emmanuel Adebayor was not the answer. Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott had the same fate, they couldn’t replace Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg, Alexander Hleb jumped ship at the first opportunity. The team should’ve been built around Jens Lehmann, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie. Instead, bad characters such as William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Alex Song, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner were relied upon for the rebuild.

[@y.mooskxjxjxjzjxjxjjxchxhs2943]

Our greatest era is now gone forever ☹️

[@bergen9]

Your club will come back We have a saying in arabic football (Who had history Will come back)

[@valitsemllaluokanavahyvaks3556]

@@bergen9 What if your a club with no history?

[@benedictcase4290]

@@valitsemllaluokanavahyvaks3556 Must be a chelsea fan then

[@fredyarya109]

Not forever

[@123dan165]

It will return with Arteta

[@vrs010]

This is a v interesting watch. The spine of the invincibles was Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. All awesome powerful players , recruited at a combined cost of around £15 million. Neville is spot on here in terms of the type of players arsenal recruited after leaving Highbury.

[@cadambivijay]

None of you guys have the right to talk about Arsenal wenger look at Henry and Neville managerial careers and carragher he is scared to get in to management....

[@ezenwaikechukwu977]

I don't think it was solely about money. The main problem was as henry said Wenger changed his game mentality completely just because of hw good fabregas was. He removed physicality in one of the qualities of a good player.

[@realist1641]

While others brought in strong plyers: Makelele, Fernandinho, Kante, Yaya Toure, Ballack, Essien

[@CorridorJ]

This is why we NEED Partney...to get that viera player back

[@strangebirdwatcher]

And need creative midfielders. Seems like only Saka can be labeled creative.

[@zubeyr7392]

Can’t really compare partey and vieria thug

[@04foreverinvincible69]

Zubeyr yes u can Patrick’s better partey is the same type of player not as good tho but

[@jeffreynanatakyicollins101]

Steven arsenal have enough creative players what we need is a strong holding midfielder

[@CorridorJ]

Zubeyr I just did thug

[@freaker126]

talking about the new stadium. I remember thinking to myself, Arsenal isn't the same after they left the old stadium. Maybe, the mentality of Arsene changes after they moved. Also, the board i remember supported Arsene's philosophy on not wanted to spend too much money buying expensive players and prefer to be more 'economic'. Even saying maintain the top 4 status is more important than winning the league or the champion league. That's pretty much sums up Arsene and arsenal. Whereas, Jose's mentality was a nice guy finish last. Chelsea was ruthless and efficient and doesn't care about 'beautiful' football. It's winning at all costs. As much as we like Arsene and the way Arsenal play, 10 years trophyless. Like Jose says, people only remember the trophies they won. Not, what could have been.

[@invincible0463]

Even way before the invincibles in 2001 arsenal had to pay for the land for the new stadium. Arsenal were never at any point one of the biggest spenders in England or Europe so wenger deserves alot of respect. However the destruction of the invincibles team in 2 years is one of the biggest crimes in sports history. Very sad we couldn't build on that and keep players

[@bordaz1]

Between them, the three pundits identified: limited signing fees, the potential of Fabregas, and poor talent evaluation (Neville) as reasons why Arsenal did not sustain its success from Arsene's first 10 years as manager. But there's more to it, and you mention player transfers. How many of those players that left from 2005-2007 were sold, and how many accepted better offers when their contracts were up?

[@3rdworldgwaming467]

Can't hate Wenger, with finances lower than his big competitors he consistently managed to finish the league in a spot which got them into the Champions league

[@jamieroe6325]

This irony hurts so much because this is exactly what United need right now, some balls with central defence midfielders and centre backs

[@clayr3745]

Gary Neville's analysis that they needed to buy tough powerful players doesn't hold water. Barca 2010-11 dominated football with a team made up mostly of small players. If you look at that list the problem was a combination of bad luck and us not being able to compete financially: Eduardo - Was playing well and got injured Rosicky - Same Nasri - Left for more money Flamini- Left for more money Hleb - Left for more money Ramsey - Injury The rest were quality but just didn't have enough quality players around them

[@DocYAYAYA]

Arsenal sold all the winners and replaced them with utter shit that was the problem. We get rid of Cole, Lauren, Sol and Toure and brought in defenders who couldnt defend. We lost Vieira and Gilberto who were rocks, we lost Pires and Ljungberg who could score and make goals and never replaced them.

[@scottlawson1800]

Wenger still in Highbury, with the old board, would have rewritten the last 10 years of his tenure. They moved stadium and are owned by Americans known for happily maintaining their league status rather than investing for progression. The *WengerOut* brigade blamed the wrong person, he became the scapegoat

[@rashidkhalid3970]

The problem started from the time Stan kronke bought club the other 4 clubs spent more money on transfers over the years and slowly overtook arsenal whilst Stan showed no ambition. Something Manchester United are slowly realising in recent years and feeling the effects of bad owners