As far as good teams go, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was a master in assembling the very best of them even though he did not always manage to win major trophies with all of them. His greatest team has got to be the 2004 invincibles who won the league unbeaten.
Once that team was off it’s peak, Wenger embarked on a rebuilding mission and brought in very technically gifted youngsters in the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere and Andrei Arshavin just to name a few. The team slowly grew under the guidance of the French man and in 2011 had reached their peak and were playing some of the best football ever witnessed in the English Premier League to date. By the time it got to February of that year, they were already leading in the Premier League table and were in the league cup final and were gearing up for a round of 16 tie against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
The Spanish giants visited the Emirates for the first leg of that tie and the Gunners produced one of the finest nights since they moved from Highbury. Arsenal would go behind in the first half when Lionel Messi threaded a perfect through ball for David Villa who coolly slotted past the helpless Arsenal goalkeeper to give the visitors the lead. Messi missed a couple of other presentable chances but the Gunners held their own to end the half in just one goal down.
The second half saw the home team up the tempo and were duly rewarded when Gael Clichy played a ball in behind the Barcelona defence and Robin Van Persie was on hand to volley past victor Valdes and even the scores. Five minutes later Arsenal produced the move of the season; Jack Wilshere’s quick feet found Fabregas who in turn played an outfield pass to the onrushing Samir Nasri who ran with the ball into Barcelona’s box, cut inside and played in Andrei Arshavin who scored to give the Gunners the most famous win at the Emirates to this day.
As the match ended the commentator perfectly described what had just happened ‘ARSENAL HAVE COME OF AGE‘. Pity that that team did not win a single trophy under Arsene Wenger as Fabregas who was the leader left that summer together with Samir Nasri but that night will forever be held dear by the Gunners faithful.