by Mohamed Dalmar

Created on: July 23, 2009   Last Updated: July 24, 2009

15th May 2004, Highbury Stadium. Arsenal have just defeated Leicester City 2-1 in the final match of the season and have completed an entire league season unbeaten, an unprecedented achievement in Premier League history. As the players hug each other and parade the stadium with the trophy, you see why a seemingly impossible mission was made possible by these superstars. The physical prowess combined with the mental strength, collective unity and technical skills showcased by this side was something the league had never seen before.

With the adventurous Jens Lehmann, the impregnable duo of Kolo Toure and Sol Campbell, the invisible wall Gilberto, captain extraordinaire Patrick Vieira, the talismanic conductor Dennis Bergkamp and the quite simply breathtaking Thierry Henry, Arsenal had the strongest spine in world football and arguably in English football history. Combined with the left sided force of playmaker Robert Pires and Ashley Cole, with their unbelievable telepathic understanding, and the right flank duo of bully boy Lauren and the deadly Freddy Ljunberg, Arsenals flanks were nothing short of world class either. These were men who were equally capable of smashing teams 6, 7 nil as they were capable of grinding out 1-0 results when necessary. In addition to these legends were the likes of Edu, Wiltord, Kanu, Keown, Cygan and youngsters Clichy and Aliadiere who kept the squad depth vast and allowed for the big boys to take rests every now and then.

Fast forward five years, and bar malaria hit Kolo Toure, not a single 'invincible' remains.

In all honesty, certain players have been replaced successfully. Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Cesc Fabregas and recently, Andrei Arshavin have proved worthy replacements and are exceptional in their respective positions. Robin van Persie has shown glimpses during the rare occasions when he's been off the treatment table that he has what it takes to be to this side what his mentor Bergkamp was to the gunners of old. Eduardo da Silva would've undoubtedly been a 20-30 goal a season striker if it wasn't for that horrific injury last season and Samir Nasri has the potential to surpass Robert Pires and add his name to that exclusive list of legendary Frenchmen who have worn that famous red and white strip.

Yet if you look closely at the current players that have been mentioned, there are no central defenders or defensive midfielders mentioned and in my opinion, this is were the major problem lies.

Arsenal haven't replaced

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>