Arsenal's Invincibles: 108 Games Unbeaten
Arsenal were the queens of women's football through the 2000s, soaring to seven straight FA Women's Premier League titles.
The invincibles is a phrase coined to described Arsenal’s 2003/2004 unbeaten season under Arsene Wenger but their women’s side went five better when they achieved the unthinkable of a record 108 games undefeated between 2003 and 2009.
It is an achievement which will probably never be replicated across any standard of football and the dynasty will forever live on in the memory of those fortunate enough to live through it.
After losing the FA National League title by nine points to Fulham in 2003, Arsenal entered the next campaign with a bee in their bonnet and cruised the league title with only one defeat to begin what would become the start of the unthinkable.
With the wind in their sails, the next campaign would become even more of a feat after they secured 16 wins out of 18 games and scored 57 goals.
They suffered what they would call a mid-season slump when they drew 2-2 and 3-3 in consecutive games against Charlton and Everton.
Sixteen more wins and only two draws followed in 2005/2006, including a scarcely believable 83 goals, while a certain Kelly Smith burst back onto the scene with the golden boot after a six-year stint in America with New Jersey Lady Stallions, Philadelphia Charge and New Jersey Wildcats.
Her form proved to everyone she still had what it takes to mix it in with the best.
Smith’s resurgence accumulated with the rise of Alex Scott, Casey Stoney and Karen Carney which helped carry this Arsenal side, managed by Vic Akers, to their summit in 2006-07.
Their record reads like a something from a PlayStation game: 22 games, 22 wins, 199 goals and only ten conceded, while they also won the Women’s FA Cup, Premier League Cup and Champions League for the first, and to date only, time.
That 1-0 victory over Swedish side Umea IK 1-0 meant Arsenal became the first British side to win the Women’s Champions League.
It was a campaign sandwiched in between a string of great domestic seasons which set the precedent for aspiring teams to reach.
Naturally, anything which followed would be seen as underwhelming but Arsenal did not rest on their laurels as they picked up where they left off the following year.
They started their league defence with 9-0 and 7-0 wins over Cardiff and Charlton and stormed their way to a fifth successive league title – again unbeaten, with 20 wins and two draws.
When they dropped points against Everton in May, it was the first time in 17 months the team had not experienced anything other than victory in the league, bringing an end to a record 51-win streak.
Arsenal remained successful in 2008/2009, with the FA Cup, Premier League Cup and league title all following.
But the unbeaten record was over when Everton sprung a surprise and won 3-0 on the road.
After 108 games, their faultless run had come to an end but like true winners, it did not knock them off their stride.
Everton’s form in the latter stages of the campaign meant we had a title race for the first time in years but Arsenal had the last laugh with a 1-0 win on the final day of the season confirming the title.
Akers retired from management that summer but Arsenal hardly slowed down, romping to another title the following season with another 20 wins from 22 games.
It was a masterclass ending to a decade of dominance, one which saw numerous league titles head to north London and a number of records be set which may never be broken.
https://womenscompetitions.thefa.com/en/Article/the-invincibles-108-games-unbeaten
