Arsenal’s unbeaten season in 2003/04 is probably the greatest triumph in Premier League history.

The word ‘unbeaten’ has been thrown about a lot this season. Many backed Chelsea to go the whole campaign without a loss, but their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United ended their hopes of replicating Arsenal’s success.

Over the years, the Premier League has showcased a number of brilliant teams. The class of ’92 helping Manchester United win the treble in 1998-1999 and Carlo Ancelotti’s free-scoring Chelsea team of 2009-10 are just a couple of sides that really stand out as major Premier League successes. However, Arsene Wenger’s unbeaten side of 2003/04 must be recognised as the best Premier League side ever.

The fact that Wenger managed to produce a team that could go a 38-game season unbeaten is a master stroke. Even more impressive is that this unbeaten run continued until the 50th game, when Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney struck at Old Trafford to end the run, representing, in Wenger’s words, a domestic ‘shift in power.’

They say that every good team must have a very strong spine and Arsenal’s was the perfect example of that. In goal was the typically reliable German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who had Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure in front of him. The two centre backs enjoyed the best form of their careers at Arsenal, conceding only 26 goals across the entire Premier League season. In front of them was the brilliant Patrick Vieira. The Frenchman had everything. Pace, power and excellent technical ability.

Alongside Vieira was Gilberto Silva, another midfielder who possessed creativity as well as a strong physical presence. Arsenal fans must be crying out for a player in the mold of Vieira or Silva at the moment – a position on the pitch that has been a long standing problem in Wenger’s side for many years. The final piece in the jigsaw was the attacking talent of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, one of the greatest strike forces in Premier League history.

Both strikers had amazing creative skills as well as brilliant finishing ability. The experience of Dennis Bergkamp worked well with the lightning pace of Thierry Henry, who was probably the best striker in the world at that particular moment in time. Henry and Bergkamp scored 46 goals between them on the 49 game unbeaten run, with Henry netting 39 of them. Clearly, the spine of the team had a lethal attacking threat to compliment its defensive solidarity.

Wenger got the simple things right with his team of 2003/04. But once he had a strong spine, he developed a mode of creativity and a style of football that even the most committed of Tottenham fans must recognise. Robert Pires was one of the finest talents the league has ever seen – his dribbling, pace and finishing shared similarities with Henry and both players developed a fantastic understanding with each other. It was a similar story on the opposite wing with Freddie Ljunberg, who was in the finest form of his career. He also had a goalscoring touch to his play, as well as offering pace on the wings to cause the opposition defence even more worry. The wingers didn’t just hug the touchline either.

They were inclined to cut inside and work centrally, something Wenger replicates in his teams today. Although Arsenal liked to work centrally, they added width to their play by including two ‘modern full-backs.’

In Ashley Cole and Lauren, Wenger had two defenders who could attack brilliantly but were also quick enough to recover and defend well too. The full back is now probably one of the most important positions on the pitch in a tactical sense. Wenger realised the potential of this position in his team of Invincibles. It added an extra attacking dimension to Arsenal’s game and showed that full backs were not just in the team to mark opposition wingers out of the game.

Although Arsenal fans crave the success Wenger brought to the club over a decade ago, they must also understand that this team was one of a kind. The unbeaten season came after Arsenal surrendered an eight point lead to Manchester United the season before. The character shown to then go the season unbeaten demonstrates exactly why the Arsenal team of the 2003/04 season was the best ever. Sir Alex Ferguson created a legacy of success over a prolonged period of time.

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But the Invincibles achieved something that may not be matched for many seasons to come, making them the greatest side in Premier League history so far.

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Recently recovered Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has revealed that he understands summer flop Mario Balotelli and that the two can create a formidable partnership heading into the second half of the season, Express reports.

Sturridge made his first start for the Reds this year against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, in which the Merseyside club triumphed in a 3-2 victory.

The England international supplied an assist for the first goal before earning the penalty converted by Gerrard, then made way for Balotelli.

The former AC Milan attacker managed to grab the winner eight minutes from time as Sturridge watched from the sidelines.

Manager Brendan Rodgers’ change to a 3-4-3 formation has seen Liverpool shoot up the table winning six out of their last eight games, but makes it difficult to deploy two centre-forwards.

However, Sturridge believes if he was to ever be fielded with Balotelli, he is certain that they can work together in order to break down their opponents.

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“When it’s Mario in there with me, I can move around and go into other areas because I know he will occupy the centre halves, so it’s different again,” he said.

“I am sure we can strike up a partnership in the future. I have no doubts about that.

“I’d say I can play with any player not just him. Whatever team the manager chooses to put out I will do my best whoever I have a partnership with. I try to adapt to whoever I am playing with and bring out the best in each other.

“We click when we are playing together.

“He’s been waiting for a while to break his duck and been working very hard in training, and now he has scored one in the league I am sure things will start to go his way now.

“It’s not easy to settle into a new team, a new area, a new lifestyle, with different people around you and so on and so forth.

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“People don’t ever take that into account. I just try to do my bit, although I’m not taking any credit for him scoring. I’m just happy he did.”

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Defeat in the FA Cup has heaped the pressure onto Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.

A goal from Danny Welbeck – a player he chose to move on – dispatched the Red Devils and condemned them to a second successive season without silverware.

The former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has improved the dismal league form shown under David Moyes though, enough to put the club in the mix for a return to the Champion’s League.

With the Old Trafford outfit currently in the precious fourth position, only narrowly ahead of Liverpool, many in Manchester believe improvement has been much too slow.

This painful progress is all the more difficult to stomach given the resources spent so far on shaking up his inherited squad.

It looks likely that van Gaal will be given time and further investment. With new signings therefore imminent, here are THREE current stars that should be looking for an Old Trafford exit…

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Juan Mata

It’s been a tough few of years for the Spanish international midfielder. Go back a couple of seasons and he was, without doubt, one of the exceptional creative forces in the Premier League.

Mata is sheer class in terms of his technique, vision and link-up play but a ruthless Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea and the schemer fell victim to his rebuilding mission.

Shipped to United for a hefty £37 million, his arrival was then heralded as the necessary spark to ignite the lethargy Old Trafford was enduring under Moyes.

As the side struggled though, so did Mata and he must surely have viewed the prospect of van Gaal with optimism. Nearly a year on, things are only slightly better.

The 26-year-old has improved his form and made important contributions but his place is far from assured thanks to the coach’s seemingly endless search for a suitable formation.

At times United have deployed three strikers which has limited the space for more attacking midfielders.

In the midfield itself Angel Di Maria and one of either Daley Blind or Michael Carrick will always be included. Then there is Wayne Rooney, who will start ahead of the former Chelsea man, regardless of how far up or down the field he is required.

Mata needs to find a new club where he can become the fulcrum of the attack, to shine at his brightest and reclaim his place in the Spanish national side.

Robin van Persie

Perhaps a surprising choice, the Dutch ace is in just as much need of a move as rival forward Radamel Falcao.

While the Colombian will need to head for pastures new due to his own lack of performance, van Persie might just need a transfer to make the best of his final few years in the game.

The former Arsenal hitman joined United in order to win silverware and was immediately rewarded, lifting his first Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson.

After a difficult time under Moyes last term, he, like Mata, must have been excited by the arrival of compatriot van Gaal.

Last summer’s World Cup with the Netherlands pointed to van Gaal’s ability to get the best from the forward. This season though, the boss has been hard on his own strikeforce and it seems he will be keen to invest in a shiny new goal-getter.

Van Gaal has shown loyalty to his countryman in the past but van Persie, 32 in the summer, may need to leave in order to guarantee game time next season.

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David De Gea

In all likelihood the young keeper will be named as United’s player of the season for the second successive year.

This deserved accolade, while a symbol of his stunning progress, is a worrying sign of the times for United.

Van Gaal probably owes the stopper his job due to a plethora of match-winning performances throughout the campaign.

The issue now facing De Gea is that his improvement has been so noticeable it now pushes him into the discussion about who might be the world’s best goalkeeper. Any pretenders to that throne, need to be playing in the world’s best club

United missed out on the Champions League last term and are far from secure in their chase for it under their current leadership.

Real Madrid however, will always be challenging for Europe’s biggest prize. With the curtain starting to come down on the career of their long-term stopper Iker Casillas, it looks like the stars might be aligned for De Gea to succeed him at both club and country.

Chelsea star Diego Costa has declared that he will not be changing his style of play, according to reports from the Daily Star.

Costa was recently banned for three matches after an alleged stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can during the Capital One Cup semi-final, and has also been booked nine times so far this season.

Further to this, the Spaniard has been involved in a few diving controversies, yet Costa has stated that there is no way he will change the way he plays football.

“I’m not going to change my way of playing,” he said.

“I do know now that I have to be a little bit more careful because it’s not the same when I do something or when someone else does it.

“Something I do, it’s talked about much more than another player.

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“I have to be extra careful but I’m never going to change the way I play. That’s what got me here, that’s the way I play.”

Costa’s aggressiveness has caused conflict with opponents and referees, but has helped him to score an impressive 17 goals in his first season in the Premier League.

The Blues will be facing Tottenham Hotspur during the weekend in the Capital One Cup Final, and the former Atletico Madrid star hopes he can help win his first Chelsea trophy by scoring at Wembley on Sunday.

“The truth is I didn’t even know how many games it was. It doesn’t worry me.” he said.

“What worries me is to be in the best physical form to score goals. I don’t pick tournaments to score, or rivals or other teams to score against.

“I’m a striker, every game I play I want to score. If it hasn’t happened in the cup, I’m hoping to god it happens on Sunday.

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“I joined a club like Chelsea to win titles. As we say, finals are not to play them, they are to win them. I’m hoping I can get my first title with Chelsea.

“This is my first final with the club so I will go in with the mentality to win it. We know we are a good team and we have the quality to win.

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Today’s early kick-off in the Premier League sees Manchester City entertain West Ham at the Etihad – a fixture that could have an enormous impact on the fate of under-fire manager Manuel Pellegrini.The Eastlands outfit’s form has tanked in recent weeks,Âtheir objective for the campaign resultantly shifting from retaining the English title to ensuring they make the Premier League’s top four.History is firmly on the City gaffer’s side today however; the Hammers have beaten the reigning Premier League champions just once from their last six attempts, with an aggregate scoreline of 17-4.That being said, the East Londoners claimed all three points in the reverse fixture at Upton Park back in October, and City are amid a run of just two wins in their last six across all competitions – including four consecutive away defeats.West Ham’s recent form isn’t much better, however, claiming just four points from a possible 16 in recent weeks. So who enters today’s match as the favourites? Perhaps the starting Xis, officially confirmed on Twitter just moments ago, can shed some light on the debate:

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has rejected a new three-year contract with the club after they couldn’t agree on all the appearance-based clauses.

The centre-back is the latest player at Anfield who hasn’t been able to agree terms. This season has been dotted with the Reds players who have been unable to sign their new deals. Steven Gerrard’s predecessor Jordan Henderson and young star Raheem Stirling have constantly been in the papers after talks grounded to a halt at different times over the season.

The 30-year-old has added yet more worry to the Reds’ fans and it looks like manager Brendan Rodgers has a lot to do. Napoli, Wolfsburg and Inter Milan have all expressed an interest and are watching the outcome with great interest.

There are not many who will doubt that Skrtel has been one of the best players for Liverpool this season. While some are not a fan of his playing style he has been consistent and his physical and defence style has been greatly needed throughout the campaign.

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In the club’s recent top of the table clash against Liverpool, the Slovakian defender was one of the stand out players due to his aerial presence and his ability to clear the ball.

Skrtel has grown and developed as a player since he joined over ten years ago, knowing his limitations and doing the “dirty work” while the other members of the back four deal with the marking.

Some believe the Reds have got the new contract offer right due to his limited style and his age. Many believe he is now on the wrong side of 30 and, although defender’s seem to keep their skill for long- you only have to look at the season John Terry has had at Chelsea this season to see there is an argument for it – Skrtel’s last-ditch defensive style needs him to be physically fit which is only likely to decrease as he gets older.

The bosses at Anfield have every right to offer Skrtel the contract they have as they have to protect their outlay, especially if the Slovak’s ability starts to wain. Rodgers loves to bring in young talent who can learn from the veterans he already has at the club – Henderson has come on leaps and bounds under the watchful eye of the Rodgers and Gerrard.

The manager is probably planning to bring in a new fresh pair of legs to replace the 30-year-old, hence why there are a number of bonuses per games played rather than a bigger basic contract, but there is no sign of any acquisitions just yet. While Rodgers is trying to do the best for the club he cannot afford to lose his strongest players due to disagreements with contracts.

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At the moment, Liverpool need Skrtel more than he needs them. They need to get him to sign on the dotted line before some other club draws his attention elsewhere.

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When he first came into the Liverpool team, it seemed as though the intensity and the drive needed for a midfield player in Jurgen Klopp’s system was simply too much for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Over the last few weeks, getting used to the speed and athleticism needed was the main thing for the former Arsenal man. But physically, there’s no doubt he’s up to the task. It seems as though he’s beginning to get the hang of it by now, though.

Against Bournemouth this weekend, the plaudits will naturally gravitate towards Liverpool’s ‘Fab Four’, as normal – even if Sadio Mane didn’t start the game. But some special praise should go to Chamberlain, who is starting to put in some quietly impressive performances as a central midfielder with all the attributes Klopp needs in his demanding system.

Jordan Henderson managed the most touches of all Liverpool’s midfielders and attackers, but aside from him, Chamberlain was the next in line, with 75 touches of the ball and 53 attempted passes. His slightly more advanced role than Henderson and his other midfield partner, Georginio Wijnaldum, however, means that his pass accuracy is slightly lower than those two. On the other hand, only Philippe Coutinho could match the England man for key passes. He managed four, which is an impressive feat in itself, but matching the Brazilian in that particular area is arguably even more so.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s two dribbles was bettered only by Mohamed Salah, his three shots was bettered only by two players, and no-one on the pitch made more tackles. It was a complete performance, and although it’s easier to pull out a good display on a good day than on a difficult one, there are signs that the summer signing is starting to come into his own and become a key player for Klopp’s Liverpool. That will be especially important given the boss’ controversial rotation policy.

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As far as years go, 2017 was pretty decent for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.

The England international’s hat-trick against Southampton on Boxing Day took him onto 56 goals for club and country in 2017 – more than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Kane also broke Alan Shearer’s record for Premier League goals in a calendar year, having netted 39 to Shearer’s 36, which was set in 1995.

The 24-year-old managed eight hat-tricks in 2017, meanwhile, and the fact that six of those were in the Premier League makes that statistic even more impressive.

There was a time when many thought that Kane would not make it at Tottenham, but he has developed into one of the best forwards in the world over the last couple of seasons.

Kane, who is valued at £72m by transfermarkt.co.uk, took to Twitter on Wednesday to thank his teammates for the part that they played in him breaking all sorts of records during a brilliant year.

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That sparked a reaction from the Tottenham fans, who were again on hand to hail their goalscoring machine as 2018 draws closer.

Cuco Martina struggled to win over the Everton fanbase when he signed for the Merseyside outfit in the summer.

Former manager Ronald Koeman worked with the right-back at Southampton and decided to bring him to Goodison Park a season after the coach switched Premier League clubs.

Initially, Martina, who has served as a replacement for injured Seamus Coleman, failed to impress on the pitch.

The Dutchman has since had an upturn in form following Sam Allardyce’s appointment as manager.

Martina has played in all four Premier League games that the new coach has overseen, and he has completed a full 90 minutes in each.

During that run, Everton have won three and drawn one, which was against Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

The Reds were leading through Mohamed Salah, but a penalty from Wayne Rooney in the final 13 minutes gave the Toffees a 1-1 draw.

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As for Martina, the right-back told the club’s official website that he is growing in confidence under Allardyce, and the fans are noticing a difference.

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette ended a run of nine matches in all competitions without a goal as he scored in the 4-1 win against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The Gunners’ club-record signing took his place up top despite his barren run of form as the hosts raced into a two-goal lead after just 10 minutes as Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi both found the net.

Arsene Wenger’s men didn’t let up though and after defender Laurent Koscielny had added another three minutes later, Lacazette finally broke his duck in the 22nd minute as he converted Mesut Ozil’s clever back-heel.

It was an impressive first-half display from the hosts but they failed to add any more goals after the break, with their France international striker attempting five shots in total.

Wenger spoke about how the 26-year-old reacted to finally getting a goal after the final whistle, and according to Sky Sports he said: “It had started to play on his mind and was very heavy, so that’s a relief for him.”

Arsenal stayed in sixth but moved to within five points of fourth position with the victory, but the two teams above them – Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool – are yet to play this weekend.

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