Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will eclipse the ‘Invincibles’ and be remembered as the club’s greatest ever team if they complete an extraordinary double and win the Champions League, Martin Keown has claimed.
Arsenal have never won Europe‘s grandest tournament in their 140-year history, but they will take on Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday’s final full of confidence after landing the Premier League title.
The Gunners secured the league and FA Cup double three times previously, in 1971, 1998 and 2002, while Arsene Wenger‘s ‘Invincibles’ re-wrote history by winning the Premier League without losing a game 22 years ago.
However, Keown — who played under Wenger in the 1998, 2002 and 2004 triumphs — said this current side will be immortalised as Arsenal’s “number ones” if they see off reigning champions PSG.
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“They’ll be the first ever winners of the Champions League, so for me, they’re the ‘Number Ones,’ not the ‘Unforgettables’ (as Thierry Henry claimed) or the ‘Invincibles’, they’re the ‘Number Ones,'” said Keown. “And it puts them there because no-one else has won it.
“Arsenal have been disappointing in Europe. There was a Cup Winners’ Cup competition that fell through our hands in 1995. The UEFA Cup in 2000 as well, with Galatasaray beating us on penalties. So, the club needs to do something major in Europe.
“And Arsenal haven’t lost a game yet in this season’s Champions League. They must be really proud of that. It can quickly be taken away by the way. But winning would really cement them in folklore at Arsenal and that is a massive incentive for the players.
“And one thing I found as a player is that when you hear Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’, it does something to you. And you start believing that you can achieve anything.”
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Arsenal players toasted lifting the league trophy with a private party at Mayfair’s Bacchanalia restaurant on Sunday night, and they were given the following day off training.
Arteta’s side will travel to Hungary on Thursday prior to the match at the Puskas Arena 48 hours later.
And Keown — who will work as a pundit for the final which is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max — continued: “I hope there’s enough gap between the celebrations to turn them into a different animal.
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“You’ve got to get angry again, get angry to win. But I’m pretty certain they’re going through that now.
“The training sessions would have been stepped up. And you get out of that celebration mode and into another. That steely determination comes back.
“Maybe the history of the club doesn’t frighten this group. The sky is the limit for them. And I just hope that they can use this as extra energy. It should give them the wings to go and do something really very special.”
