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2002–03 Arsenal F.C. season

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2002–03 Arsenal F.C. season

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Arsenal
2002–03 season
Chairman Peter Hill-Wood
Manager Arsène Wenger
Premier League 2nd
FA Cup Winners
Worthington Cup Third round
FA Community Shield Winners
UEFA Champions League Second group stage
Top goalscorer League:
Thierry Henry (24)
All:
Thierry Henry (32)
Highest home attendance 38,164 – vs Manchester United, Premier League
(16 April 2003)
Lowest home attendance 19,059 – vs Sunderland, League Cup (6 November 2002)
Average home attendance 38,041
Home colours
Away colours
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002–03 season was Arsenal's 11th year in the Premier League. This article shows statistics of the club's players in the season, and also lists all matches that the club has played in the season.

The club from North London began the new campaign as Double winners, and with manager Arsène Wenger committing himself to the club for a further four years, there was more expectation then ever as to whether this current crop of superstars could retain their status as England's finest or make a stride forward by dominating Europe for years to come.

With their brand of stylish, swashbuckling football assisted by flawless passing and accurate visionary skills, it became a matter of which Arsenal player would go on to score rather than if and how. Comparisons between the Ajax's, Real Madrid's, and Liverpools of yesteryear were rightly made as the season progressed and the bookies, plaudits and pundits were won over come November that the title would stay at Highbury – none predicting the team's badly timed slip up, domestically and abroad, come the early weeks of spring.

Contents

Events

  • 11 July: Highly rated French defender Pascal Cygan becomes Arsenal's first summer signing from Lille for an undisclosed fee; defender Martin Keown puts pen to paper and ends his uncertainty with the North London club, signing a two-year extension to his current contract[1]
  • 17 July: Goalkeeper David Seaman signs a new one year contract with Arsenal[2]
  • 24 July: Goalkeeper Richard Wright agrees to join Everton in a deal worth £4.5 million[3]
  • 26 July: Goalkeeper Fabian Carini joins the Gunners on a year's loan from Juventus[4]
  • 28 July: Arsenal sign Brazilian World Cup winner Gilberto Silva for a reported fee worth £4.5 million from Atlético Mineiro[5]
  • 11 August: Arsenal win the FA Community Shield thanks to a second-half goal by debutant Gilberto against Liverpool.[6]
  • 18 August: Arsène Wenger admits that he had failed to sign goalkeeper Fabian Carini on loan due to personal terms[7]
  • 18 August: Arsenal start their quest to retain their league championship by producing an awesome display of attacking football against promoted Birmingham City, with goals by Sylvain Wiltord and Thierry Henry ensuring they would equal a Premiership record of 14 straight league wins.[8]
  • 24 August: Arsenal fail to break an all time English record of 15 straight league wins, but come back from 2–0 to draw against West Ham United to stay unbeaten[9]
  • 21 September: Arsène Wenger declares that his team are ready to go through the entire season unbeaten in every competition – a feat which last happened in the league by Preston in 1889[10]
  • 25 September: The Gunners thrash PSV 4–0 in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, in their typical stylish manner. In doing so, Gilberto broke the record of the fastest goal of the tournament, scoring after only 21 seconds.[11]
  • 28 September: A scintillating performance away from home helped the Gunners cruise at the top of the Premiership. In beating Leeds United 4–1, Arsenal rewrote the record books twice: beating Nottingham Forest's top-flight record of 22 away league games without defeat and Chesterfield's 71-year-old record of scoring in 47 consecutive games, as well as equalling Manchester United's Premiership total of 29 matches unbeaten.[12]
  • 6 October: Arsenal break the record for the longest unbeaten streak, extending it to 30 games in a league match at Highbury against Sunderland[13]
  • 19 October: A moment of brilliance by 16-year-old Wayne Rooney ends Arsenal's 30 match unbeaten run in the Premiership, in the last minute, allowing Liverpool leapfrog the Gunners at the top of the Premiership summit.[14]
  • 26 October: A week to forget for Arsenal continues as defeat to Everton is followed by more European disappointment at the hands of Auxerre, as well as domestic misery from Blackburn Rovers. On the plus side, winger Robert Pirès returned from a lengthy injury.[15]
  • 30 October: Despite losing their fourth match in a row and enduring their worst run in almost two decades, Arsenal progress to the second phase of the UEFA Champions League[16]
  • 27 November: Thierry Henry scores a clinical hat-trick against Roma in the second phase of the UEFA Champions League, and scores a further two goals against Aston Villa a further three days later to move four points ahead of the chasing pack.[17]
  • 7 December: Arsenal lose their fourth game of the season in early December at the hands of a resurgatating Manchester United side. After the game, manager Arsène Wenger had admitted that his side lacked that cutting edge and United looked "more sharper"[18]
  • 16 February: Arsenal's quest to retain the double looked realistic after beating Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round, thanks to goals by Edu and Sylvain Wiltord.[19]
  • 22 February: Arsenal put one hand towards retaining their league title after an impressive victory over Manchester City. After the game, the Gunners stood five points ahead of Manchester United with ten matches to go[20]
  • 19 March: Arsenal crash out of the UEFA Champions League away to Valencia[21]
  • 5 April: Arsenal are held to a draw at Aston Villa via Kolo Touré's own goal, which canceled Freddie Ljungberg's second half strike. At the end of the day, Arsenal stood ahead of United only on goal difference.[22]
  • 13 April: Arsenal reach the FA Cup final after defeating Sheffield United, 1–0 from Freddie Ljungberg[23]
  • 16 April: Manchester United and Arsenal's championship decider proves to be inconclusive after a stalemate at Highbury. Defender Sol Campbell is sent off late on and will miss Arsenal's last three games of the season, including the FA Cup final[24]
  • 26 April: The fate of the Premiership trophy returns to Manchester United's hands after Arsenal drop vital points away to Bolton Wanderers.[25]
  • 4 May: Leeds United's late win at Highbury all but ends Arsenal's hopes of retaining the Premiership.[26]
  • 7 May: Arsenal end the season in style, thrashing Southampton for six, courtesy of two hat tricks from Robert Pirès and Jermaine Pennant, as well as beating Sunderland 4–1.[27]
  • 17 May: Arsenal win the FA Cup thanks to a solo goal by Robert Pirès in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium against Southampton[28]

Season review

Pre-season

After losing the services of legendary captain Tony Adams and right back Lee Dixon – one half of the famous back four, the Gunners entered the new season with real optimism and looked to capitalise on their blistering 2002 form. Sealing the league title in style at the home of then champions Manchester United symbolised what Wenger anticipated as a "shift of power" in English football, posing a question as to which team would stop them come August. They scored in every single game the previous season, were unbeaten in their travels and won their last 13 matches of the season in their crucial title run-in. Unlike the previous double-winners of 1998, this side displayed a physical yet easy on the eye approach to football which was demonstrated when needed to.

Wenger kept the nucleus of his winning squad and promoted highly tempered midfielder Patrick Vieira to captain following Arsenal's win at home to Everton in the last game of the season. Unlike their title counterparts, they didn't splash out significally; newly crowned World Cup winner Gilberto Silva (apparently a bargain for £4.5 million) and highly-rated defender Pascal Cygan turned out to be the only major names added to the skilful bunch. English duo Martin Keown and goalkeeper David Seaman decided to put pen to paper after a summer of uncertainty and stay put with the club for two and one more years respectively.

Competitions

Overall

Competition Started round Final
position / round		 First match Last match
Premier League — 2nd 18 August 2002 11 May 2003
UEFA Champions League Group stage Second group stage 25 September 2002 19 March 2003
FL Cup Third round Third round 6 November 2002 6 November 2002
FA Cup Third round Winners 6 January 2003 17 May 2003

Source: Competitions

Premier League

Classification

Further information: Final League Table
Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 38 25 8 5 74 34 +40 83 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2 Arsenal 38 23 9 6 85 42 +43 78
3 Newcastle United 38 21 6 11 63 48 +15 69 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
4 Chelsea 38 19 10 9 68 38 +30 67

Updated to games played on 11 May
Source: statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
38 23 9 6 85 42 +43 78 15 2 2 47 20 +27 8 7 4 38 22 +16

Last updated: 11 May
Source: statto.com

Results by round

Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
Ground H A H A H A H A H A H A H H A A A H A H H A A H A H A A H H A H A H A H H A
Result W D W D W W W W W L L W W W L W L D W W D W W W D W D W W L W D D W D L W W

Last updated: 11 May.
Source: statto.com
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Lose; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Matches

Pre-season

FA Community Shield

Main article: 2002 FA Community Shield

Premier League

Arsenal began the season with a 2–0 home victory against newly-promoted Birmingham City; winning their fourteenth league win in a row – a new top-flight record.[31] A late equaliser by Sylvain Wiltord in their next match at West Ham United was the club's first draw in over five months. A 4–1 win against Leeds in September rewrote the record books thrice:[12] they scored in 47 consecutive games, beat Nottingham Forest's top-flight record of 22 away league games without defeat and equalled Manchester United's Premiership total of 29 matches unbeaten, during their treble winning season. Arsène Wenger hailed the performance as "edging nearer to perfection,"[32] and even went as far to boast that his team could go unbeaten in all competitions, come the end of May.[33] By the start of October, the Gunners went 30 unbeaten and won twelve games at home – a new club best.[34] However, at the middle of the month, Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season, against Everton. Wayne Rooney produced a moment of brilliance in the last minute to end the Gunners' momentum at the top of the Premiership. It had a "Mersey repercussion" as Gérard Houllier saw his side take over at the summit after winning the early lunchtime kick-off to Leeds. The "Invincibles", as Arsenal were coined at the start of the season, had extinguished following consecutive home defeats to Auxerre in the Champions League and Blackburn Rovers in the league, despite having the majority of the possession during the match and 29 goal attempts to Blackburn's four. Liverpool took full advantage of the mini-crisis at Highbury and extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to four points.

The quality of Arsenal's game grew in stature, and a comfortable win at home to title rivals Newcastle United in late autumn, capped by an inspirational performance by Vieira, had cut the gap of regaining their position to just a point and, quoted by the Guardian - "re-established them as England's most accomplished team".[35] After qualifying for the second group stage of Europe's elite tournament, November proved decisive domestically. A 3–0 win against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, including a marvellous individual goal by Thierry Henry, helped Arsenal leapfrog Liverpool at the top of the table, who were suffering from an unexpected blip. Henry proved once again vital as he reigned supreme against Roma by scoring his first Champions League hat-trick and followed it up with two goals against Aston Villa (with one a bending free kick) to help Wenger's side maintain their spot as champions-elect. Losing to Manchester United in their next domestic game had coincided with the best United performance of the season, which indicated that there was still work to be done. The defeat also ended a run of 56 consecutive games that Arsenal had scored in, which was the last of the season. The Gunners got back in track during the Christmas fixture list which included two back-to-back wins, but were pegged back with a draw to Liverpool. Still, come the end of the year, Arsenal were heading the table five points ahead of nearest challengers, Chelsea, who were beaten in the New Year's fixture despite a late comeback.

In a match where Birmingham couldn't afford to lose, the Gunners re-established their five point cushion at the top of the Premiership with a sublime performance, notably from Henry, whose two goals took his total for Arsenal to 100.[36] A week before, a solo effort by teammate and club legend Dennis Bergkamp help him reach the coveted 100-goal landmark.[37] By the start of February, Arsenal showed their ruthless side to the game by snatching a late winner at home to Fulham via Robert Pirès. In the following weeks, Wenger's tactics paid dividends as the North London club took a step towards regaining their title by thrashing Manchester City through an attacking brand of swashbuckling football. The Gunners were earning all of the superlatives, and wins against Manchester United in the FA Cup and Charlton Athletic in the league had cemented an eight point gap (as United had a League Cup final to prepare for). The gap became two as the Gunners failed to beat Blackburn away, while United scraped three points away to Villa. Four days later, elimination from the Champions League was confirmed after losing 2–1 to Valencia, which Wenger felt was the major turning point of the season.[38]

As winter turned into spring, Arsenal's football and winning mentality failed to blossom, as United went top for the first time in the season, thanks to 3–0 win in the evening kick off to Fulham at home. By April, United came to Highbury knowing that a win would give them the upper hand in the race for the title. Despite a tense draw and the game becoming inconclusive, United still topped the league by three points, a game in disadvantage to Arsenal who lost Patrick Vieira through injury during the match and Sol Campbell who was recklessly sent off. Arsenal won their next match at the Riverside to Middlesbrough, but squandered a two-goal lead away at Bolton in the last ten minutes, leaving with just a point. Wenger conceded the fact that, for the first time, the destiny of the title was in Manchester United's hands.

Early May saw United edging out closer to the title, by thumping Charlton Athletic 4–1, with Ruud van Nistelrooy bagging his third hat-trick of the season. Going to the last home match of the season, Arsenal couldn't afford any more slip-ups to have a say in the championship race, but Arsenal's title hopes were shattered by an 88th minute strike by Mark Viduka, ensuring Leeds' survival in the top flight. However, if there was to be some consolation, Wenger's side won their last two matches, starting the famous unbeaten run which eventually lasted until October 2004, breaking the previous record. Arsenal was also awarded with an FA Cup win over Southampton, becoming the first team to retain the cup in more than 20 years.[39]

FA Cup

See also: 2002–03 FA Cup and 2003 FA Cup Final

Arsenal entered the competition in the third round, receiving a bye as a Premier League club. Their opening match was a 2–0 home win against Oxford United on 4 January 2003.[40] Dennis Bergkamp scored his 100th goal for the club and an own goal by defender Scott McNiven ensured progression to the next round.[41] Arsenal faced non-league side Farnborough Town but the match switched from Farnborough's ground at Cherrywood Road to Highbury due to concerns over safety.[42] Farnborough as the home team began the match in disastrous fashion, conceding a goal scored by Arsenal defender Sol Campbell in the 19th minute and going down to ten men after Christian Lee was sent off for a professional foul. Francis Jeffers scored twice before Rocky Baptiste added a consolation, beating Pascal Cygan for pace and despite having his first shot saved by goalkeeper Stuart Taylor, he managed to lift the ball over him and into the net. Lauren and Bergkamp each scored in the final 15 minutes to give Arsenal a 5–1 victory.[43]

Arsenal's fifth round match was away to league rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on 16 February 2003. After Ryan Giggs missed the chance to score past an open goal, midfielder Edu gave Arsenal the lead through a free kick which took a deflection off David Beckham's shoulder. Sylvain Wiltord scored the second goal of the match in the 52nd minute, running onto a pass from Edu and side-footing the ball past goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.[44] Patrick Vieira said of the performance: "We knew when we lost here in the league that we had lost the battle in midfield. We had to put that right, and we did."[45] In the sixth round, Arsenal were drawn at home to Chelsea in a repeat of the previous season's final.[46] Chelsea defender John Terry put Chelsea ahead with a header from a set piece before Arsenal responded through Jeffers and Thierry Henry. Frank Lampard scored a late equaliser for the visiting team meaning the match was replayed at Stamford Bridge.[47] An own goal by Terry and a strike by Wiltord in the space of seven minutes during the replay gave Arsenal an early lead against Chelsea. Despite going down to ten men after Cygan was sent off and Terry scoring from a header, the away team scored a third goal through Lauren to ensure progression into the semi-finals.[48] In the semi-final against Sheffield United on 13 April 2003 at Old Trafford, Freddie Ljungberg scored the winning goal to help Arsenal reach their third successive FA Cup final appearance.[49] The match was remembered for David Seaman, who on his 1,000th appearance in senior football produced a late save to deny Sheffield United from equalising.[50]

Football League Cup

Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
England Arsenal 6 3 1 2 9 4 +5 10
Germany Borussia Dortmund 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10
France Auxerre 6 2 1 3 4 7 −3 7
Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6

Second group stage

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Spain Valencia 6 2 3 1 5 6 −1 9
Netherlands Ajax 6 1 5 0 6 5 +1 8
England Arsenal 6 1 4 1 6 5 +1 7
Italy Roma 6 1 2 3 7 8 −1 5

Players

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 England GK David Seaman
3 England DF Ashley Cole
4 France MF Patrick Vieira
5 England DF Martin Keown
7 France MF Robert Pirès
8 Sweden MF Fredrik Ljungberg
9 England FW Francis Jeffers
10 Netherlands FW Dennis Bergkamp
11 France FW Sylvain Wiltord
12 Cameroon DF Lauren
13 England GK Stuart Taylor
14 France FW Thierry Henry
15 England MF Ray Parlour
No. Position Player
16 Netherlands DF Giovanni van Bronckhorst
17 Brazil MF Edu
18 France DF Pascal Cygan
19 Brazil MF Gilberto Silva
20 France GK Guillaume Warmuz
21 England MF Jermaine Pennant
22 Ukraine DF Oleh Luzhny
23 England DF Sol Campbell
24 Sweden GK Rami Shaaban
25 Nigeria FW Nwankwo Kanu
26 Latvia DF Igors Stepanovs
30 France FW Jérémie Aliadière

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
27 Greece DF Efstathios Tavlaridis
28 Côte d'Ivoire DF Kolo Toure
29 Germany DF Moritz Volz
31 Denmark DF Sebastian Svärd
33 England DF Alex Bailey
34 Republic of Ireland FW Graham Barrett
35 England FW David Bentley
36 England FW Adam Birchall
37 England FW Jermaine Brown
No. Position Player
39 England MF Jordan Fowler
40 England DF Ryan Garry
41 England GK Craig Holloway
42 England DF Justin Hoyte
43 Cyprus DF Nicky Nicolau
46 England MF John Spicer
47 England FW Jerome Thomas
57 Brazil DF Juan

Squad information

N
 P
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 EU
 Since
 App
 Goals
 Ends
 Transfer fee
 Notes
1 GK ENGEngland Seaman (VC1) 38 EU 1990 377 0 2003 £1.5M
12 RB CMRCameroon Lauren 25 EU 2000 71 5 2004 £7.2M
23 CB ENGEngland Campbell 27 EU 2001 97 7 2005 Free
18 CB FRAFrance Cygan 28 EU 2002 27 0 2006 £5M
3 LB ENGEngland Cole 21 EU 2000 72 3 2005 Youth system
11 RM FRAFrance Wiltord 28 EU 2000 94 26 2004 £13.3M
4 CM FRAFrance Vieira (captain) 25 EU 1996 218 20 2004 £3.5M
19 DM BRABrazil Gilberto 25 Non-EU 2002 34 3 2006 £4.5M
7 AM FRAFrance Pirès 28 EU 2000 87 24 2004 £6M
10 CF NEDNetherlands Bergkamp 33 EU 1995 234 73 2005 £7.5M
14 CF FRAFrance Henry 24 EU 1999 205 112 2007 £10.5M
28 CM CIVCôte d'Ivoire Touré 21 EU 2002 40 2 Undisclosed £250k
5 CB ENGEngland Keown 35 EU 1993 300 4 2004 £2M
8 AM SWESweden Ljungberg 25 EU 1998 183 44 Undisclosed £3M
16 CM NEDNetherlands van Bronckhorst 27 EU 2001 40 1 2004 £8.5M
17 CM BRABrazil Edu 24 Non-EU 2001 2 20 2004 £6M
15 CM ENGEngland Parlour 29 EU 1989 314 21 2004 Youth system
9 CF ENGEngland Jeffers 21 EU 2001 29 4 Undisclosed £9M
25 CF NGRNigeria Kanu 25 Non-EU 1999 105 41 2004 £4.2M
22 RB UKRUkraine Luzhny 33 EU 1999 75 0 Undisclosed £1.8M
13 GK ENGEngland Taylor 21 EU 1997 18 0 Undisclosed Youth system
21 AM ENGEngland Pennant 19 EU 1999 7 3 2005 £2M
24 GK SWESweden Shaaban 26 EU 2002 5 0 Undisclosed Nominal
26 CB LATLatvia Stepanovs 26 EU 2000 17 0 Undisclosed £1M
30 CF FRAFrance Aliadière 19 EU 1999 3 1 2007 Youth system
31 CM DENDenmark Svärd 19 EU 2000 2 0 Undisclosed Nominal
29 RB GERGermany Volz 19 EU 2000 1 0 Undisclosed Youth system
42 RB ENGEngland Hoyte 17 EU 2002 1 0 Undisclosed Youth system
40 CB ENGEngland Garry 18 EU 2002 1 0 Undisclosed Youth system
50 CB GREGreece Tavlaridis 22 EU 2002 1 0 Undisclosed Youth system
39 RM ENGEngland Bentley 17 EU 2001 1 0 Undisclosed Youth system

Last updated: August 2002
Source: Arseweb.com (for country, number, position, appearances, age and since)
Ordered by Starting 11 then appearances.

Starting 11

This section shows the most used players for each position considering a 4–4–2 formation.

No.
 Pos
 Nat
 Name
 MS Notes
1 GK ENGEngland Seaman 43
12 RB CMRCameroon Lauren 42
23 CB ENGEngland Campbell 49
28 CB CIVCôte d'Ivoire Touré 32
3 LB ENGEngland Cole 43
8 RM SWESweden Ljungberg 32
4 CM FRAFrance Vieira 42
19 CM BRABrazil Gilberto 44
7 LM FRAFrance Pirès 35
10 CF NEDNetherlands Bergkamp 32
14 CF FRAFrance Henry 52

Top goalscorers

Players in / out

In

# Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
18 DF France Pascal Cygan France Lille £2,100,000 02002-07-1111 July 2002 [1]
19 MF Brazil Gilberto Silva Brazil Atlético Mineiro £4,500,000 02002-08-077 August 2002 [5]
24 GK Sweden Rami Shaaban Sweden Djurgården Undisclosed 02002-08-3030 August 2002 [51]
20 GK France Guillaume Warmuz France Lens Undisclosed 02003-01-3131 January 2003 [52]

Out

# Position Player Transferred to Fee Date Source
GK Austria Alex Manninger Spain Espanyol £960,000 02002-07-044 July 2002
GK England Richard Wright England Everton £3,500,000 02002-07-2424 July 2002 [3]
DF England Tony Adams Retired 02002-08-011 August 2002
45 MF England Steve Sidwell England Reading Undisclosed 02003-01-2020 January 2003 [53]
20 DF England Matthew Upson England Birmingham City £1,000,000 02003-01-2222 January 2003 [54]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Cygan joins Arsenal". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 11 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/2095996.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  2. ^ "Seaman signs new deal". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 17 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/2115625.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Wright agrees Everton move". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 24 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/2149205.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  4. ^ "Arsenal land Carini". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/2154053.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  5. ^ a b "Silva joins Arsenal". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 28 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/2157063.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  6. ^ Williams, Richard (12 August 2002). "Arsenal show undimmed taste for titles as Silva shines". Guardian.co.uk (Guardian News and Media). http://football.guardian.co.uk/Match_Report/0,,-39237,00.html. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  7. ^ "Carini move falls through". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 18 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/2201959.stm. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  8. ^ "Arsenal ease past Birmingham". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 18 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2196597.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  9. ^ "Hammers hold Arsenal". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 24 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2210776.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  10. ^ Lipton, Martin (21 September 2002). "We won't lose one match; Wenger: I am not arrogant and I'm not frightened to say it.. Arsenal can go through whole season unbeaten". Daily Mirror (Highbeam Research). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-91879371.html. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  11. ^ "Arsenal sweep past PSV". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 25 September 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/2278269.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  12. ^ a b "Arsenal blow away Leeds". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 28 September 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2272636.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  13. ^ "Arsenal stroll to victory". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 6 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2286191.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  14. ^ "Rooney ends Arsenal's run". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 19 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2317767.stm. 
  15. ^ "Blackburn pile on Arsenal pain". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2342425.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  16. ^ "Defeated Arsenal go through". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 30 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/2372609.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  17. ^ "Henry hammers Roma". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 27 November 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/2515241.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  18. ^ "Man Utd's surge continues". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 7 December 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2535721.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  19. ^ "Arsenal cruise past Man Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 16 February 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/2740035.stm. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
  20. ^ "Rampant Arsenal rout City". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 22 February 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2762209.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  21. ^ "Arsenal crash out in Valencia". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 19 March 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/2858229.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  22. ^ "Arsenal held by Villa". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 5 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2895671.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  23. ^ "Arsenal sink brave Blades". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 13 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/2917575.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  24. ^ "Highbury title deadlock". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 16 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2935603.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  25. ^ "Bolton dent Arsenal hopes". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2960621.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  26. ^ "Viduka hands title to Man Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 4 May 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2968015.stm. Retrieved 8 June 2010. 
  27. ^ "Arsenal hit Saints for six". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 7 May 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2994079.stm. 
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