2001–02 Arsenal F.C. season
Encyclopedia
During the 2001–02 English football season, Arsenal
competed in the FA Premier League
(known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons). Arsenal
won the domestic double of the Premiership and FA Cup, ending a frustrating three season period in which they finished second behind Manchester United
in the Premiership.
final with a 2–0 win over Chelsea
, and the win at Old Trafford made them only the second team in English football to have won the "double" on three occasions (the other being Manchester United). Unusually, this double was secured in reverse, with the Premiership title won four days after winning the FA Cup.
The end of the season saw Arsenal's two longest-serving players call time on their playing careers. Club captain and centre-half Tony Adams
, approaching 36, announced his retirement after 22 years at the club, including 19 in the senior squad, 14 of which were spent as captain. During that time, he inspired them to no less than ten major trophies. Full-back Lee Dixon
, in his 38th year, decided to hang up his boots after spending 14 years of his 21-year career at Highbury
.
As the season drew to a close, Arsenal's new 60,000-seat stadium
was going through the final stages of planning permission and chairman Peter Hill-Wood
hoped to have it ready for the start of the 2004–05 season, although during the summer of 2002 some businesses were still occupying the facilities on the industrial estate that occupied part of the planned stadium site.
24 Fredrik Ljungberg
12 Robert Pirès
8 Dennis Bergkamp
8 Sylvain Wiltord
7
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
competed in the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
(known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons). Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
won the domestic double of the Premiership and FA Cup, ending a frustrating three season period in which they finished second behind Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in the Premiership.
Season summary
Arsenal were in the title race for much of the season, but in the end they won it by a comfortable margin thanks to winning their final 13 games of the campaign and securing the title in the penultimate game of the season thanks to a 1–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on 8 May. Four days earlier, they had triumphed in the FA CupFA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final with a 2–0 win over Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, and the win at Old Trafford made them only the second team in English football to have won the "double" on three occasions (the other being Manchester United). Unusually, this double was secured in reverse, with the Premiership title won four days after winning the FA Cup.
The end of the season saw Arsenal's two longest-serving players call time on their playing careers. Club captain and centre-half Tony Adams
Tony Adams (footballer)
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...
, approaching 36, announced his retirement after 22 years at the club, including 19 in the senior squad, 14 of which were spent as captain. During that time, he inspired them to no less than ten major trophies. Full-back Lee Dixon
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....
, in his 38th year, decided to hang up his boots after spending 14 years of his 21-year career at Highbury
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
.
As the season drew to a close, Arsenal's new 60,000-seat stadium
Emirates Stadium
Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...
was going through the final stages of planning permission and chairman Peter Hill-Wood
Peter Hill-Wood
Peter Denis Hill-Wood is a British businessman and the current chairman of Arsenal Football Club.-Biography:Hill-Wood was born in Kensington, London. His father, three uncles and grandfather all played first-class cricket for Derbyshire CCC. He attended Eton College where he was a classmate of...
hoped to have it ready for the start of the 2004–05 season, although during the summer of 2002 some businesses were still occupying the facilities on the industrial estate that occupied part of the planned stadium site.
First team squad
Reserve squad
Starting 11
- Only considering Premiership starts.
| No. | Pos. | Name | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK |  David SeamanDavid Seaman David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury... |
17 |
| 12 | RB |  LaurenLauren Etame Mayer Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer , commonly known as Lauren, is a retired Cameroonian footballer of Equatoguinean origin, who formerly played for the Cameroonian national team.-Early career:... |
27 |
| 23 | CB | Sol Campbell Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's... |
29 |
| 5 | CB | Martin Keown Martin Keown Martin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal... |
21 |
| 3 | LB | Ashley Cole Ashley Cole Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world.... |
29 |
| 8 | RM |  Fredrik LjungbergFredrik Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear... |
24 |
| 15 | CM | Ray Parlour Ray Parlour Raymond "Ray" Parlour , is a retired English footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé"; although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour, on account of his solid performance but... |
25 |
| 4 | CM |  Patrick VieiraPatrick Vieira Patrick Vieira is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City.... (Captain) |
35 |
| 7 | LM | Robert Pires Robert Pirès Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04... |
27 |
| 10 | CF |  Dennis BergkampDennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level... |
22 |
| 14 | CF | Thierry Henry Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and... |
31 |
Matches
Topscorers
Thierry HenryThierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
24 Fredrik Ljungberg
Fredrik Ljungberg
Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear...
12 Robert Pirès
Robert Pirès
Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...
8 Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
8 Sylvain Wiltord
Sylvain Wiltord
Sylvain Claude Wiltord is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Nantes. With the French national team, Wiltord has won Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup....
7