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Dennis Bergkamp says he still can't believe Arsene Wenger told Arsenal that they could go unbeaten in a season before the start of the 2003-04 campaign.
The Gunners, of course, remain the only side in the Premier League era to go unbeaten in a season, doing so in the 2003-04 campaign. They finished the campaign with 90 points, which included 26 wins and 12 draws.
In September 2002, Wenger said (h/t the Guardian):
"It's not impossible to go through the season unbeaten and I can't see why it's shocking to say that. Every manager thinks that but they don't say it because they're scared it would be ridiculous."
It is a message he may have relayed in the dressing room as well. Speaking on David Seaman's Seaman Says podcast (h/t The Boot Room), Bergkamp shed light on the Gunners' historic campaign.
The Dutchman said:
"The Invincibles season, you were expected to be in the top two again. Maybe expected to be champions. But to do it the Invincibles way, yeah it was unbelievable."
Seaman added:
"How crazy is it that Arsene believed you could go unbeaten and he said it didn’t he?"
Bergkamp responded:
"I know. That, I never can understand. As a player you know as well, you don’t think about that. You think about competing for the championship, maybe. But to think about going unbeaten, it’s not really a target."
Seaman, who made 534 appearances for the Gunners, played 26 times across competitions in the 2003-04 campaign before leaving for Manchester City that summer. Bergkamp, meanwhile, had five goals and nine assists in 38 games across competitions that campaign.
Where are Arsenal in the table this season?
Arsenal had a fruitful gameweek 17 as they reclaimed top spot in the Premier League table after a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 17 December.
They now have 39 points, which is one more than second-placed Liverpool. Aston Villa are level on points with the Reds but trail on goal difference. The Reds led the table coming into gameweek 17.
However, they were held to a 0-0 draw at Anfield by Manchester United. Arsenal's next Premier League task is a mouth-watering clash against Jurgen Klopp's men on 23 December. They have only beaten the Reds just once in their last seven meetings.
