Arsenal’s Invincibles – Where Are They Now?

With Thierry Henry announcing that he’s hanging up his boots for a role as Sky Sports pundit, and much talk about Arsenal’s Invincibles recently after Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the season, we take a look at what became of Henry’s 2003/04 team-mates.

Jens Lehmann

It was Lehmann’s first season at Arsenal, replacing club legend David Seaman, and was an ever-present in the Gunners’ unbeaten league campaign.

The German keeper stayed at Arsenal for five years before returning in 2011, via Stuttgart, due to an injury crisis at the club. He is now an Ambassador for several charities and has begun an acting career.

Ashley Cole

Despite playing a huge role at left-back in the Invincibles season, Cole’s acrimonious departure to Chelsea two years later has soured his relationship with Gunners fans.

He won the Champions League and Premier League at Stamford Bridge before moving to Roma last summer, where he’s been a bit-part player under Rudi Garcia.

Kolo Toure

Wenger transformed Toure from a midfielder into a central defender, where he struck an impressive partnership with Sol Campbell during their unbeaten season.

After a bust-up with William Gallas, Toure moved to Manchester City where he won the FA Cup and Premier League title. He moved on a free transfer to Liverpool in 2013, but has been in and out of Brendan Rodgers’ inconsistent defence.

Sol Campbell

Campbell’s form in 2003/04 was rewarded with a place in the PFA Team of the Year, and he went on to become a Champions League runner-up with Arsenal – scoring in a final defeat to Barcelona.

He turned down Juventus to join Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth before a bizarre sojourn at Notts County ended after just one appearance. Like Lehmann, he returned to Arsenal for a brief spell and is now an advocate for racial diversity in English football.

Lauren

The Cameroon defender also ended up at Pompey after six seasons at Arsenal, before ending his career at Spanish club Cordoba.

He has settled in Spain and is a regular pundit on Spanish TV, and has established a training centre in Seville to rehabilitate professional players.

Freddie Ljungberg

Ljungberg played a major factor in Arsenal’s unbeaten run and remained at the club for a further three seasons before a move to West Ham.

Upton Park was just a brief stop on what became a nomadic career, with the Swede playing for clubs in the US, Scotland and Japan before ending up at Mumbai City in the fledgling Indian Super League earlier this year.

Patrick Vieira

Vieira captained the Gunners during their Invincibles season but his constant links with a move away every summer became unsettling for the club. He eventually moved to Juventus a year later, where he won the Serie A title in his first season – before it was stripped from the club in a match-fixing scandal.

He then moved to Inter Milan, where he won four consecutive titles, before finishing his career at Manchester City. He’s remained at the Etihad, where he is the club’s club’s reserve team and Elite Development squad manager

Gilberto Silva

Silva was one of the unsing heroes of Arsenal’s unbeaten campaign, before a career-threatening injury curtailed his role the following season.

After Arsenal, he plyed his trade at Panathinaikos and Gremio before finishing his career in Brazil at former club Atletico Mineiro. Silva is a patron of a UK homeless charity, and just today has been linked with a return to the Emirates in a coaching role.

Robert Pires

The Frenchman’s career trajectory has resembled that of his team-mate Ljungberg. He remained at Arsenal for a couple of seasons before four seasons at Villarreal.

He had a short stint at Aston Villa and came out of retirement earlier this year to also join the Indian Super League with FC Goa. He also lends his time to an ambassadorial role with a HIV-awareness charity.

Dennis Bergkamp

The non-flying Dutchman may have only scored four league goals during 03/04, but his partnership with Henry was pivotal to his side’s dominance.

He ended his career at the Gunners before embarking on a coaching career with Ajax. He’s since become Frank De Boer’s assistant at the Amsterdam club and is consistently linked with a move back to the Emirates in a coaching capacity.