Dimensions
162 x 240 x 27mm
There is a gold edition of the Premier League trophy on display inside Arsenal's stadium. It is the only one of its kind.
It was specially commissioned to honour an achievement that has never been done before or since in modern football - an undefeated campaign. Most of the players involved never even touched it, or lifted it, as it was cast as an afterthought. Who, after all, would imagine overcoming every obstacle to complete a 38-game season without loss? Only Arsene Wenger.
Nobody in Arsenal's inner circle took him seriously when he first said it could be done. Yet in 2003-04, a team that played with lightning speed and lustrous skill fulfilled Wenger's lifelong dream. In one season, a special group became invincible.
That group was fascinating for the blend - characters who shared elite qualities but also added idiosyncratic personality to the mix. They pushed and inspired one another. It brought the best out of the likes of Jens Lehmann, a self-styled 'Mad German', Sol Campbell, an intense competitor, Robert Pires, an instant friend if you give him a football, Patrick Vieira, a soft-spoken, battle-hardened captain, Gilberto, a thoughtful Brazilian, Thierry Henry, a supremely gifted and obsessed scorer and creator, Dennis Bergkamp, the perfectionist conductor.
This definitive book is based on their experiences told in exclusive player interviews. Football writer Amy Lawrence, who has reported on Arsenal for more than 25 years, weaves their recollections, as well as the testimonies of other key players and protagonists around the club, to allow them to tell their story. From the battle of Old Trafford to jubilation at White Hart Lane, from training ground sparks to dressing room revelations, readers will go behind closed doors, onto the pitch and into the minds of the players to relive the key games and battles, and to understand the teamwork and the psychology that was fundamental to staying undefeated.
Invincible is also the story of one club's revolution during an era when the game has been transformed. A journey back and forth in time, the book reflects on the scene in the 1970s and 80s, and finishes in the present with a full chapter interview with Arsene Wenger conducted after Arsenal's 2014 FA Cup victory, to put the Invincibles into important historical context.
Full of insight, honesty and humour, this insider's account is not only a must-have read for any Arsenal or football fan, but an enthralling portrait of one of the most extraordinary teams in modern sport.
