Let’s do a combined Arsenal Invincibles and current Liverpool First XI

In the last couple of weeks Liverpool needed luck to beat Sheffield United and Leicester. Now imagine going another 30 fixtures, home or away, whatever the weather, whoever’s injured, even when luck is going against you, and you find a way to not lose.

Hence, we are the only English side since Preston in 1889 to pull off the feat and (that was 27 games long) so it’s not unfair to say it’s unlikely.

However, seing as people have been comparing, let’s do our own comparison of Liverpool vs Invincibles (plus I’m bored because it’s the international break). Paul Merson laughed off the notion of Klopp matching what we did but who would get in a combined 11?

Comment below with any formation you want.

Be kind to each other in the comments

GK- Alisson
It’s incredible we were so consistent with Lehmann in goal as you always thought his temper would eventually get us into trouble. Ironically it did the day we won the title when, perhaps knowing a draw would be enough he decided to throw a Spurs player to the floor gifting them a 2-2 draw. In a way it’s unfair to compare, as the requirements for a keeper seem to have changed.

Alisson is what the modern managers want, with this obsession of your goalie being good with his feet and almost acting like a sweeper. In 2003 you just needed to be good with your hands. As we liked to play the right way, having a keeper good with his feet couldn’t hurt I guess.

LB – Cole
Has to be Cole as he was the best Left back in the world for most of the time he was playing. His understanding with Pires and Henry was crucial to our success. When it clicked our left hand side destroyed sides.

CB- Campbell
Why we were so good in this era, as much as we could outplay you on the ball, we could match you physically as well. While the flair players get most of the credit, you need those who love a battle, who are not going to back down when playing Bolton away on a cold Wednesday evening. Our dressing room now is crying out for the likes of Sol.

Van Dijk
As much as a success story Touré was, learning a whole new position, I have to go with Van Dijk. He has improved Liverpool dramatically and his pure presence seems to have made the rest of the back 4 better. It’s not a golden era for defenders but he makes things look like it’s easy. What a defensive partnership that would be!

Arnold- RB
Easily could have gone for Lauren who again you could rely on for the physical side of things, but I think it was only right to acknowledge the impact the full backs have in the current Liverpool set up. With a workman-like midfield it’s up to the likes of Arnold to be an attacking outlet. His delivery is outstanding which might not help an Arsenal team who rarely scored with their heads but hey it could only help?

DM- Vieira
Again, I’m playing a diamond to fit as many attacking players in as I can. If this was an actual game, it might prevent how much he could dribble forward but it’s a midfield presence that we need. This is my easiest choice. Put it this way Viera or Henderson lol.

AM- Bergkamp
Playing behind the front 2 as a way to fit in as many attackers as possible. Liverpool fans are right to say Firminho has a footballing brain and it’s his unselfish work that brings out the best of the other two. In other words, he’s a poor man’s Bergkamp. Why it is okay playing him as an AM is because he dropped back anyway to spot the runs of his peers.

RM- Ljungberg
The biggest compliment I can pay Bergkamp is if the Dutchmen is in the team then suddenly others become automatic picks due to the understanding they had with him. For example, some might argue that Mane is a better player than the Swede, but how can you leave out the runs that he would make, and Dennis would spot. Don’t get me wrong Mane doesn’t stay in one position either but he’s more direct.

LM- Pires
Like Freddie, he wouldn’t stay in one position. Could suddenly pop up in the middle, on the right, etc. His movement off the ball was outstanding. It’s their understanding, running off Bergkamp which puts them in. It’s too crucial to our success to leave out.

Striker – Henry
Obviously as he’s the greatest of all time! He probably wouldn’t like having to play with another striker as Bergkamp was more of a provider, which is why he’s called him his favourite partner. Still though, he has that understanding to play off, while Cole and Pires on the left to work with.

Striker – Salah
It would be harsh not to get one of Liverpool’s front three in the team. Bergkamp has better footballing brain then Firminiho, while Mane wouldn’t make the runs like Pires and Ljungberg for the Dutchmen to spot. That leaves Salah who is a goal scorer, but can equally move off the ball – one moment being on the wing, the next in the middle.

What would be your line-up?

Dan Smith

26 Comments

  1. I would take bergkamp alone over any of Liverpool’s 2 best players that’s how far ahead he was of anyone.
    Think we might have a few closet Liverpool fans on here after yesterday’s article,so I expect they will pick mostly Liverpool players .

  2. Wow. The international break in full force breaking people apart huh. Have we run out of what to talk about?

    We are better off talking about Ozil, Xhaka or even Arsene than this.

  3. Honestly only Liverpool player I would have is Salah. Definitely more from United’s treble team though

    Including Salah because 1 that he is an excellent player. 2. I don’t want to sound arrogant. But I’d put Toure and Lauren over Van Dijk and Arnold. Lehmann over Allison

  4. This is an insult on our invincibles,.. We should be discussing ozi and our playing style saga.
    #nigeria
    #gooner

  5. Had the Invicibles stil been in their primes today, I would combine some of them with Liverpool’s aces in Klopp’s Gegenpressing 4-3-3. Bergkamp was great, but I wouldn’t use a no 10 formation because most European winners have ditched that position:

    …………….. Seaman
    Arnold . Van Dijk . Campbell . Cole
    ……………. Gilberto
    ……. Vieira ……… Wijnaldum
    Salah …………………… Mane
    ……………..Henry

    – Seaman: The most consistent and composed GK I have ever seen in Arsenal jersey. Lehmann and Allison are great, but they make me nervous

    – Alexander-Arnold: Klopp uses Robertson and him as if they are midfielders: liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/trent-alexander-arnold-liverpool-injury-16841703. Emery should have followed how Klopp uses his attacking fullbacks

    – Vieira and Gilberto: Vieira was not a DM, but Gilberto was one of the greatest. Vieira was a box-to-box CM that would most likely thrive in half-winger position

    – Wijnaldum: Like Monreal, he is an unsung hero whose contributions are usually not visible in the field, but he is one of the key factors of Liverpool’s success last season. Pepe, Maitland-Niles and our midfielders tried to harass him, but they failed because of Wijnaldum’s excellent ball control and physicality

    – Salah and Mane: Pires and Ljungberg were great, but Salah and Mane are more consistent in scoring and assisting. Winning two EPL trophies is not a small feat, but winning a Champions League cup in today’s football is more difficult in my opinion

    1. Bergkamp was never played as a traditional number 10…. The Invincibles lined up in a flat 442 making his role that of a support striker which is not quite the same as a number 10 like Ozil 🤷‍♂️
      It was the flexibility and fluid movement of that flat 442 that was key to the Invincibles…. It could be a 442/4411 one minute, then look like a 4231 or 433 going forward before snapping back to the flat 442 in defense.

      As for the Invincibles v Klopps gegenpress…. The Invincibles would carve that open with ease, their passing was so quick and fluid that they would have left Lpool completely out of position, that level of intensity would have been their undoing.

  6. You just can’t compare, invincibles are ………
    Klopp’s men are awsome, all his starting XI are awesome……
    But i’ll have the invincibles any day. There was an X factor about the invincibles that Klopps men dont have.

  7. Sorry can’t agree; Bergkamp would walk into most teams including this one. He was not just a No 10. His technique, vision, speed of thought and feet, winning mentality and aggression would allow him to outperform any player in this midfield or forward line, apart from Henri and we know what Henri, Wright and others thought about Bergkamp.

  8. The one that could have played in that older era and looked strong in our team I think is probably VD, I think he can handle himself and he has the attributes that a lot of our Invincibles had. I don’t know if Salah could still be the same player, they were men back then and todays football is open and lightweight compared to then. It’s why we used to say he’s not tall enough, strength and height will still help in today’s game but it’s not as important anymore, and I reckon a lot of those Liv players would not cope nearly as well back then as they do now. Every team you faced wanted to get stuck into you, then when we start signing the Salah and Firmino type players the tactics stopped us in our tracks. The rule changes have come at a good time for Klopp as well as every team trying to play forward football, Wenger would have loved that when we moved stadium as it would’ve been a big help, I remember Wenger teams used to fair well v Klopp teams before it came to a head. I honestly think people are having a laugh if they believe Liv’s team can be comparable in an even way to the Invincibles. The Inv was one of the best passing teams in memory, that is why you can’t compare this Liv team to them, also player for player you’re talking about some of the top nations finest players of all time ..with Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira etc etc. The team that would come closest to them in my opinion would’ve been Mourinho’s early Che team. Manu/Sir-Fergie had too many advantages with the ref situation and the FA in general, as an Arsenal guy I can’t acknowledge them.

  9. There is not one single player I would change from our SQUAD of players for any of pools.

    We never felt that this squad of players were ever going to lose a game and they didn’t.

    In just over 120 years, no other team has gone undefeated, there was no weak link, there was strength enough in every department and people can go on and on and on about it, but until someone actually become “invincible” in the premier league of English football, it’s just opinions…theFACT is that only one squad has achieved the title and that is The Arsenal…END OF:

    1. You could draw 38 games and become invincible, and probably even get relegated, the centurions were better, but beware the invincible centurions are coming

      1. Haj, a pigs might fly if they had wings!!!

        We didn’t get relegated did we?
        We didn’t draw 38 games did we?

        We went unbeaten and won the premiership as well – played the most devastating football ever seen in this country – everyone said it could never be done – WE DID IT!!!

  10. Too much about being Invincible, points are more important !

    Man City Woman were Invincible last season, not losing a game, but Goonerettes were crowned Champions !

    This is possibly my favourite scenario ever in the delussion of being a Spud……………They draw every game in a season which produces 38 points and are relegated, but because they go unbeaten the deluded b#st#rds produce a video of their unbeaten season claimung they are the new Invicibles.
    I`ll listen to any better scenarios than that ! hahaha

    1. Le Coq, the scenario your missing is that we were champions and we were Invincible with the points we accumulated over that season – one fact follows the other in that wonderful year.

      What has that got to do with any of the scenarios you quote above, which have nothing to do with what we achieved anyway?

      It doesn’t matter how many goals were scored, how many points were won, lost or drawn…at the end of the season we were unbeaten and we were champions – the first team do achieve that in over 120 years – what do you find hard to accept about that?

      1. Hi Ken………………nothing wrong with my Spud scenario ! 😆

        Nothing wrong with The Invincibles, but the most important thing was winning the league back then, not going unbeaten and I feel my Man City Woman example is relevant as Arsenal Woman got the most points and won the league last season.
        But hey it`s not only just my opinion, but it`s a fact also !.

        Man City winning league winning 2017/18 with 100 points and losing 2 games is more impressive imo than our total of 90 points in 2004.

  11. If really you felt enough credit was/and or is not being given to the invincible achievements-loaded achievement it was, you should not be writing an article like this one. You are simply telling us that team is not good enough, and were lucky. BUT the team set out to achieve that goal, even the preceding season, and failed to do it and also did not win the league, and the players said it was because Arsene put them on pressure by that demand. He still did not back down on that demand, he told the players, they were capable, and they believed their manager, so achieved the goal.

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