Vieira names five current Arsenal stars who would get into the Invincibles side | OneFootball

Patrick Vieira reckons five of Mikel Arteta’s current Arsenal XI would get into the famous Invincibles side from the 2003/04 Premier League season.

The Gunners are having an outstanding campaign under Arteta with the Spaniard leading them to the summit of the Premier League and one game from title glory.

Their 1-0 win over Burnley on Monday night, courtesy of a Kai Havertz header on 36 minutes, put Arsenal five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

If Man City beat Bournemouth on Tuesday night then Pep Guardiola’s side will take the Premier League title race to a nervy final day of the season.

There has been criticism at times of Arsenal’s play this season, while some players have come in for criticism, but Vieira reckons five of the current stars would get into the famous Invincibles side, which registered 26 wins and 12 draws in an unbeaten season.

When asked which of the current side would replace some of the Invincibles, Vieira told Sky Sports: “I think [David] Raya in goal for [Jens] Lehmann.

“[Jurrien] Timber at right-back, I quite like him, he can get in the team as well. [Kolo] Toure and [Sol] Campbell, I will change one of the two, I will keep Campbell and change Toure for Gabriel.

“Of course Ashley Cole, we’re not touching Ashley. [Bukayo] Saka can get in the team on the right hand side over Freddie Ljungberg.

“Up front we’re not touching Thierry [Henry] and Dennis [Bergkamp]. Declan Rice for Gilberto and keep Robert Pires on the left.”

Vieira: I think Arteta did a really good job

The Invincibles season was the last time that Arsenal won the Premier League and Vieira has heaped praise on Arteta, who has also led the Gunners to the Champions League final.

Vieira added: “I think Arteta did a really good job, taking the team a couple of years ago and seeing where it is today.

“He also spent a lot of money. Regarding Arsene, I think Arsene brought myself and Thierry on really good deals, so for that I’d say Arsene will be the manager.”

Reflecting on the victory over Burnley, Arteta told reporters: “I’m so happy with the result. In the first half, we played probably some of the best football that we have all season. We were really unfortunate not to score two or three goals and make the gap bigger – we missed some big chances.

“In the second half we started quite well, we had two chances with Ebs that never materialised, and then you can sense it, with the score at 1-0 and that this is the Premier League. Burnley set up in an incredible way, they showed incredible speed to play with that energy and that belief, and anything can happen.

“But then the team showed what they showed all season, an incredible resilience, maturity and composure to hold onto that result and keep a clean sheet. We dominated the boxes and didn’t really give any chances away to them. But at 1-0 – this isn’t really good for your health.

“When it’s in our hands, these are the things we have to master and we’ve done it tonight. One more to go.

“I’ll go home to have a nice sleep. Tomorrow I’ll start to prepare for Crystal Palace, and tomorrow night, sit in front of that TV, waiting for that magic to happen!”