2003/04 Premier League Table: Unbeatable Arsenal Invincibles

2003/04 Premier League Champions: Arsenal

Runners-up: Chelsea

Champions League places: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool.

UEFA Cup places: Newcastle, Middlesbrough (League Cup), Millwall (FA Cup finalists)

Promoted (from 2002/03): Portsmouth, Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Relegated: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United, Leicester City

Leading Scorer: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 30 goals

Premier League Table 2003 – 2004

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	38	26	12	0	73	26	+47	90
2	Chelsea	38	24	7	7	67	30	+37	79
3	Manchester United	38	23	6	9	64	35	+29	75
4	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	55	37	+18	60
5	Newcastle United	38	13	17	8	52	40	+12	56
6	Aston Villa	38	15	11	12	48	44	+4	56
7	Charlton Athletic	38	14	11	13	51	51	0	53
8	Bolton Wanderers	38	14	11	13	48	56	-8	53
9	Fulham	38	14	10	14	52	46	+6	52
10	Birmingham city	38	12	14	12	43	48	-5	50
11	Middlesborough	38	13	9	16	44	52	-8	48
12	Southampton	38	12	11	15	44	45	-1	47
13	Portsmouth	38	12	9	17	47	54	-7	45
14	Tottenham Hotspur	38	13	6	19	47	57	-10	45
15	Blackburn Rovers	38	12	8	18	51	59	-8	44
16	Manchester City	38	9	14	15	55	54	+1	41
17	Everton	38	9	12	17	45	57	-12	39
18	Leicester City	38	6	15	17	48	65	-17	33
19	Leeds United	38	8	9	21	40	79	-39	33
20	Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	7	12	19	38	77	-39	33

2003/04 Season Review

The 2003/04 campaign will forever be known as the season of The Invincibles. Arsenal’s Invincibles. The Gunners pulled off the stunning feat of becoming the first team since Preston North End in 1889 to go the entire season unbeaten in the league. They won the title, racking 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 losses, and 90 points, and finished top of the 2003/04 Premier League table.

Many were tipping Chelsea for success after new owner Roman Abramovich spent around £100 million on players such as Damien Duff, Juan Sebastián Veron, and Joe Cole.

David Beckham left Manchester United to join Real Madrid in a £25million deal. At the same time, the Red Devils were further handicapped by Rio Ferdinand’s suspension for the final four months of the season as punishment for missing a drug test. But as Beckham left, United brought in youngster Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon in one of the most significant transfers in Premier League history.

Thierry Henry

With French international striker Thierry Henry at the fore, Arsenal powered through the season and sealed the title at White Hart Lane of all places, the home of deadly rivals Tottenham Hotspur. In the final moments of the match, the Gunners were pegged back by a late Robbie Keane penalty, but a 2-2 draw was still enough to claim the championship with four games to play. “Everybody has to say we’re the best team in the country,” said the Gunners’ Dennis Bergkamp. “The way we’ve played football is exceptional, and we have deserved this.”

Arsenal did the double-over second-placed Chelsea, but the Blues got their own back in the Champions League quarter-finals, beating Arsene Wenger’s side 3-2 on aggregate. Despite finishing second and qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals, Blues manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked in the close season to be replaced by Porto coach Jose Mourinho. A difficult season for Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier also cost the Frenchman his job, with Rafa Benitez coming in from Valencia that summer.

FA Cup Winners

Manchester United finished third in the league and claimed the FA Cup, beating rivals Arsenal in the semi-finals before easing past Millwall in the final. Unfortunately, the 2003/04 season also brought Leeds United’s decline, which had fallen into severe financial difficulty.

In November, the club sacked Peter Reid and installed first-team coach Eddie Gray as interim manager. Gray, too was sacked after failing to save the club from relegation and was replaced by his assistant Kevin Blackwell. “I have had a great life with the club, and it’s just sad that it has come to this,” Gray said. “That’s life. I would disagree that it was an impossible task to keep Leeds up. It was difficult, but I still enjoyed it, and I am sad how it turned out.”

After narrowly avoiding the drop the previous season, Leeds went down on 33 points along with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. They were the bottom three teams on the 2003/04 Premier League table.

2003/04 Cup Results

2003/04 FA Cup Winners: Manchester United [Final – Manchester United 3 v 0 Millwall]

2003/04 League Cup Winners: Middlesbrough [Final – Bolton 1 v 2 Middlesbrough]

2003/04 Champions League Winners: Porto [Final – Monaco 0 v 3 Porto]

2003/04 UEFA Cup Winners: Valencia [Final – Valencia 2 v 0 Marseille]

2003/04 Managerial Changes

Leeds United: Peter Reid out, Eddie Gray in

Southampton: Gordon Strachan out, Paul Sturrock in

Tottenham Hotspur: Glenn Hoddle out, David Pleat in